Story of Two
by Writer in the Woods
Summary: Lindsay and Gabby are the new girls. After Gabby introduces Lindsay to Avalon, who knows what magic will unfold? What secrets have been buried in Ravenswood? Will the girls learn the difference between being forgiven and forgiving yourself?
1. Prologue

**Okay people! This is my second fan fiction and I'm hoping I get a LOT more reviews for this one than my first one. =/ this story is partially based on things that really happened (obviously not all of it) between me and my friend. Yes, I am in the story. Yes, I really lived in this place. Yes, Gabby really is my friend that lives in NJ (I moved). And yes, the prologue is 90% true (I can't remember that clearly so I filled in the blanks…). So, people PLEASE DON'T DISAPPOINT ME AGAIN!!! REVIEW, REVIEW, REVIEW!!! =O**

**Disclaimer: No I do not own Avalon: Web of Magic by Rachel Roberts. However, I do own myself and the plot. Gabby owns herself… =P**

Prologue

The young girl walked down the hall of her new school's hallway. As she glanced back at her soon-to-be classroom through a veil of her light brown hair, she knew she would get lost when the school year started. Her mother led her to the auditorium with a bunch of other new kids and their parents. The auditorium was filled with chairs and parents in front of a large stage. In the back, there were a few lunch tables set up. The tables were encircled with kids drawing and doodling on stacks of paper.

The little girl's mother told her to go sit and draw with the other children while she was listening to the presentation for parents. The child was very shy but she cautiously walked over to the table and sat next to a friendly looking girl with dark brown hair. The other girl was obviously shy as well; she didn't say a word as the little girl sat next to her and started to draw. Occasionally, the two girls would glance at each other and quickly glance away.

When the parents' presentation was nearly over, the taller little girl with dark brown hair turned to the child. Cautiously she said, "Um, hi. My name is Gabby. What's your name?"

The surprised child turned to Gabby and replied, "Hi… My name is Lindsay…"

Gabby smiled, "Are you new here too, Lindsay?"

"Yeah, I'm going into 3rd grade." Lindsay answered.

"I am too! Maybe we'll be in the same class." Gabby said enthusiastically.

"Maybe." Lindsay said just as the parents' presentation ended.

Lindsay saw a tall man coming toward them. Her mother was on her way too.

"Hey, Gabby. Who's your friend?" The tall man asked. Lindsay figured it must be Gabby's father.

"This is Lindsay." Gabby answered him.

"Hi, Lindsay! Where do you live? Maybe you guys could hang out sometime." Gabby's father asked her.

"Um, I live in Fox Hollow Woods." Lindsay answered uncomfortably.

"Really? We live there too! What street do you live on?" Gabby's father pried. Lindsay's mother came up to them just in time to save her.

"Lindsay are you ready to go?" Lindsay's mom asked. Then, she noticed Gabby and her dad. "Oh, I'm sorry! Who are you?"

After Gabby and her father introduced themselves, Lindsay's mother said, "Oh, so you live on Hunters Dr.? Wow, that's just down the street from us!"

For a bit, the girls and their parents mingled and chatted about moving and being new to Cherry Hill, New Jersey. Soon, everyone else in the auditorium was leaving and so the girls said good-bye and their parents lead them out of the school. All the while, they were completely unaware of friendship and events to come that year.

**Yeah, that wasn't all that exciting… BUT I thought it was kind of important for people to know how we met… REVIEW PEOPLE!! REVIEW!!! =O!! **


	2. Chapter 1: Make Believe

Chapter 1: Make Believe

The day after Spring Break the same year

Lindsay huffed as she sat down on the bus, disappointed that Spring Break was over. Perry, the girl at her bus stop, sat a few seats back. She was nice to Lindsay at the bus stop, but Lindsay knew that when she saw her at lunch Perry would tease her just like all the other kids.

The bus turned the corner onto Hunters Dr. and Lindsay moved over toward the window in her seat. When the bus stopped, Gabby and a few other kids boarded. Gabby bounced down the aisle and popped into Lindsay's seat. Lindsay smiled and greeted her. Gabby had gone to Puerto Rico to visit family and Lindsay hadn't seen her all Spring Break.

"Hmm, would you rather go into a dungeon and nearly die in order to save your friend, a wolf, or be stalked by an evil creature that's trying to kill you and your friends. Oh and with the second one, you have a flying leopard friend." Gabby asked while speculating me.

"Um… What kind of question is that?" Lindsay stared at her in confusion.

"Well, obviously not an easy one… Could you just answer it?" Gabby seemed determined to get something out of Lindsay.

"Okay… I'll go with the first one but you have to explain what the heck you're talking about." Lindsay wagered.

"Hmm… The first one? Well then you are the warrior." Gabby said. "It's from this book series I got for Easter. It's called Avalon: Web of Magic."

"Warrior? Avalon? What the heck are you talking about Gabby?"

"There are three mages in the series: The Warrior, Adriane; The Healer, Emily; and The Blazing Star, Kara. They each have a magic stone: Adriane has the wolf stone, Emily has a rainbow jewel, and Kara has a unicorn jewel. Adrian is bonded with a mistwolf named Storm, and Kara is bonded with a flying leopard named Lyra. They three mages are best friends and go on magical adventures together." Gabby explained.

"Wow… so I take it "option one" was Adriane and "option two" was Kara? How come I didn't get Emily as a choice?"

Gabby smirked, "That's because _I_ wanted to be like Emily."

The two girls laughed, and Gabby explained the books to Lindsay for the rest of the bus ride. When they got to school, they played together on the playground like usual. No one approached them or asked to play soccer on the pavement with them. Everything seemed like a usual morning; the two new girls played alone while all the other children steered clear of them.

* * *

Gabby and Lindsay had an active imagination and were always making up new games to play. Like any 3rd grader making up a game, they would go a little overboard, and it became real to them. Avalon, the land of magic, came straight out of the book and right into their lives. It was no longer a game they played every once in a while; it was a way of life. Everything connected to magic in their minds. So, of course, what happens to little girls who believe in magic? It proves itself to them.

* * *

Lindsay got off the bus and started walking home. It had been a week since Gabby had explained Avalon to her and they had made up their game. She grabbed a snack and went downstairs to play with her hamster, Amy. As she was connecting tubes to Amy's cage, the phone rang; it was Gabby.

"Hello?"

"Hey Lindsay! You want to play outside today?" Gabby asked.

"Sure, at my house or yours?"

"Definitely at yours. My sister won't leave me alone." Gabby pulled the phone away from her ear for a second and Lindsay heard Gabby yell at her sister in the background. "DANIELLA, GET OUT OF MY ROOM!"

"Nice. Well, you can come over now, if you want." Lindsay chuckled.

"Yes please!" Gabby squeaked and they both hung up.

A few minutes later the doorbell rang.

"I'll get it!" Lindsay yelled as she ran for the door.

Gabby greeted her with a cheerful smile. "Hey! What do you want to do?"

"Play Avalon?" Lindsay suggested.

"Just what I was thinking." Gabby agreed.

The two friends went outside to play their usual game in Lindsay's backyard. Lindsay had bonded with a mistwolf named Thunder and a rusty colored D-fly named Cooper. Gabby had bonded with a unicorn named Mystic and a mistwolf named Caramel. Thunder was jet black with lightning gold eyes. He looked a bit like Dreamer in the books. Cooper was a bouncy little dragonfly with green eyes and was always getting into trouble. Caramel was caramel colored with brown eyes; she was much more mature compared to Thunder. Lastly, Mystic was a white unicorn with blue and purple eyes. She was calm and understanding but liked to pull pranks on the mistwolves every once in a while.

They would often pretend to meet up with the characters from Avalon and considered themselves the junior mages. The only problem they found with this was that they didn't have a friend to be the junior Blazing Star so they worked around that issue.

Though the girls often pretended to meet the characters, they had no idea what was in store for them that day.

* * *

Adriane, Kara, and Emily were taking care of the animals in the glade the same day. Ozzie was entertaining them with a story from the Elvin country while the animals were being fed. Zach had come to visit and was twirling and practicing with his sword as the girls worked. Dreamer was lounging in the shade and Lyra was napping in a nearby tree. Everything was calm and quiet when Ozzie suddenly gasped and pointed at the ground.

Little twisters were coiling around on the dirt. Everyone in the glade gathered around to see what the Fairymentals had to say. This kind of thing wasn't common but it had happen before, and the girls knew what to expect. Slowly the twisters spelled out: Find the two…. Help them train… They already believe….

"Two who already believe?" Adriane questioned once the twisters had vanished.

"Do you think they mean mages?" Kara asked.

"I guess so since they want us to help them train. It's kind of strange though since magic usually favors the number three. This time there's only two," Emily thought aloud.

"Well how do we plan to find them?" Kara asked.

Zach cleared his throat. "Well, if they already believe, then I wouldn't doubt they've already begun to use some form of magic."

Adriane looked at him, puzzled. "What's your point?"

Zach rolled his eyes. "You guys tend to forget that Drake isn't only good for flying. He's also a pretty good magic tracker."

"OH YEAH!" The girls shouted in unison and laughed.

Zach whistled, and Drake flew from the sky. "Climb aboard ladies," Zach chuckled as he pulled Adriane up next to him.

"Hey! I can get up on my own, you know!" Adriane protested, blushing. Everyone laughed with Zach.

"Well, Lyra and Dreamer, you can come with us. Ozzie I need you to watch over the preserve while we're gone," Emily said.

"Can do," Ozzie agreed.

As they took off, Zach explained the plan, "Once we get far enough away from the preserve, Drake should be able to sniff out any other magic uses. Since Earth isn't well known for magic, whatever he finds should be what we are looking for."

"Sounds good to me," Adriane said.

"How do you think they already believe?" Kara asked.

"Well, you remember our books?" Emily asked and everyone nodded, "We thought that people would consider them to be fantasy. Maybe, these two took it to heart."

"That could be it," Zach agreed.

As soon as Drake was far enough away from the glade, he smelled magic coming from the east. He took off after it, and soon they could no longer see the ground; everything was covered in trees. After a few minutes of looking hopelessly down through the foliage, Emily spotted gold light flashing from some one's backyard. Then, Adriane saw a blue glow follow it, and Zach heard the slashing of swords.

* * *

Lindsay and Gabby were practicing with toy swords that Lindsay got from her brother's room. They would pretend to flash their magic through their sword, but they both swore they really saw it happen, not just pretend. Lindsay had an eagle made of tiger eye on a necklace around her neck, and Gabby had a sapphire horse on a chain around her wrist. Each time the girls pretended to use magic their jewels would glow an intense light.

Gabby was winning their sword fight, and Lindsay had nearly broken her brother's toy sword when she spotted something circling overhead. It was far too big to be a bird, and planes didn't usually get that close without crashing. Plus, planes weren't usually red. Then, Gabby saw something smaller and spotted flying next to the thing.

Gabby gasped and dropped her sword. "Lindsay, I don't think any of this is pretend."

Lindsay was still looking up with her mouth open. "I think your right… And I also think that we should clear off my deck so my house doesn't become a landing pad."

The girls would have laughed but they were too stunned. They quickly cleared all the stuff off of Lindsay's large deck. Lindsay was incredibly grateful that her parents weren't home and her brother was shut in his room playing video games. When they were done they backed away and watched the two figures, one a large red dragon and the other a spotted flying leopard, land.

* * *

**Oh boy, do I like reviews!**


	3. Chapter 2: Realization

Chapter 2: Realization

Drake slowly lowered himself on to the deck, careful to avoid hitting trees. Lyra was trying her best not to get knocked into a bush by Drakes wings. Once Drake landed, the Ravenswood gang slid off his back to meet two eight year old girls watching them in awe. A small, copper colored D-fly fluttered nervously around the shorter girl with lighter hair. In front of the two girls, a jet-black mistwolf and a caramel colored mistwolf stood protectively with the black one's golden eyes blazing. Beside the taller girl with darker hair, a white unicorn stood with her horn pointed towards the gang.

The shorter girl broke the silence. "Wow."

"Wow," the taller girl echoed.

Adriane elbowed Zach. "They're speechless!" she laughed.

"I am not speechless!" The shorter girl objected, "There just isn't much to say! Do you KNOW who you ARE?"

"Yes, but we don't know who you are…" Zach said.

"I'm Gabby!" the taller girl blurted out.

"Way to be dignified," the shorter girl mumbled before smoothly intruding herself, "I'm Lindsay."

Emily finally spoke, "Hi, Lindsay and Gabby. Do you know why we're here?"

The two girls spastically shook their heads no.

"We got a message that we are supposed to train you two," Emily explained, "Do you know what I'm talking about?"

"You mean like magic?" Lindsay's eyes lit up.

Adriane laughed, "You got that right, kid."

Gabby was so exited she started hopping in place. "We know all about you guys!" She turned to Emily. "I want to be a healer, just like you!"

Emily beamed. It felt good to have someone look up to her like this girl did. "Cool! Well, I can train you."

Lindsay followed Gabby's lead and declared, "I want to be a warrior! Like Adriane!"

Adriane laughed, "Awesome, kid! I'll show you how to kick some butt!"

After being silent all this time, Kara objected, "Wait a minute! I don't get a mini-me?"

Lindsay wrinkled her nose. "You're a girly-girl."

Kara yelped, "Great, another Xena!"

Adriane glared at her. "Shut up Kara. This kid is cool."

"Yeah, I don't get to help either. Relax," Zach said.

Lindsay was not going to let that happen. "But I want to learn to sword fight! Gabby keeps beating me! Will you help, Zach?"

Zach's eyes sparkled. "Heck yeah! Never mind, Kara. Looks like you're on your own."

Kara pouted, "No fair!"

Gabby felt bad for her so she piped up, "You could help me. I don't mind girly-girls and you're good with unicorns."

Cheered a bit, Kara replied, "Sounds good. Speaking of which, care to introduce us to your friends?"

By now the girls' bonded animals had calm down, seeing no threat. The two mistwolves were lying down beside the girls, the little D-fly sat on Lindsay's shoulder, and the white unicorn sat with her head resting on Gabby.

"This is Thunder," Lindsay pointed to the black mistwolf beside her, then to the copper D-fly on her shoulder. "And this is Cooper."

Gabby introduced her friends, "The unicorn is Mystic and the other mistwolf is Caramel."

Dreamer finally hopped down from Drake's back and cautiously approached the other two mistwolves. Thunder immediately got up, and Caramel slowly followed.

_Hi!_ Thunder panted and jumped around Dreamer like a maniac. _Who are you?_

Dreamer replied, a bit unsure, _Dreamer. Who are you?_

_My name is Thunder! You want to play with me? _Thunder pounced on Dreamer, scaring him half to death.

_Sorry about that; he's just a pup. I'm Caramel. _Caramel introduced herself.

_No problem. I guess I was the same when I was younger. _Dreamer replied.

"You're only a few months older than him, Dreamer!" Adriane laughed.

_So?_ Dreamer huffed, _I'm still more mature._

"Only when you try to impress girls." Adriane winked at him.

_Be quiet! _Dreamer growled, embarrassed.

Everyone laughed but Lindsay and Gabby; they weren't old enough to understand.

_POP!_

_OooooOOOooo! KeeeeeKEEEEEEE! _A little gold dragonfly hit Kara in the gut at full speed.

"Ugh!" Kara grunted at the impact. "Nice to see you too, Goldie."

Intrigued, Cooper flew up to Goldie and poked her on the wing. _OOooooooo. SsssssshinnnnEeEE! LeLee loooooOOOkkk! _He called to Lindsay, _SSSSSssshHIIIinneeeeeE!_

"That's right, Cooper, shiny," Lindsay chuckled.

_Hmph!_ Goldie slapped Cooper's little paw. _NooooO ToouchY!_

_Sawwy _Cooper's tiny head drooped in apology.

_S'okkkk_ Goldie said.

"Okay, enough chit chat. What do you need, Goldie?" Kara asked.

_Noootin_ Goldie replied.

"Then scram!" Kara ordered, "We have work to do."

_Oookkkkyyy_ Goldie sighed.

_Pop! _And she was gone again.

"She didn't need to leave; we don't have time to do anything out here," Lindsay pointed out.

"What do you mean?" Adriane questioned, "It's not even sunset. We can stay out here at least until the sun sets."

"Not unless you want to get eaten alive!" Gabby exclaimed.

Kara squealed, "By what!"

"Mosquitoes," Lindsay laughed, "I hope you have bug spray on."

Kara sighed in relief, "You had me scared for a second there. Yeah, we have bug spray."

Gabby grimaced, "Well, at dusk not even that will keep them at bay. Around here, no one is out at sundown."

"Well," Emily was deep in thought. "What if you came to Ravenswood with us?"

"We couldn't do that!" Lindsay yelled, "What would we tell our parents? How would we explain our being gone?"

"Calm down, kid," Adriane smirked, "We are the masterminds of excuses. Plus, it seems to me like Emily has a plan."

"I sure do," Emily said, "What if we told your parents that your school was sending students to learn to live with nature? Like a nature camp program. We'd come to pick you up and you could stay on the preserve. We'd be able to help you every day after school."

Gabby liked the sound of that but wasn't completely sure it would work. "What would you tell your parents? And it's not like you can come pick us up on a dragon."

Adriane was catching on. "We could tell them it was a program for the preserve, but we could only deal with a two kids at a time. You could stay in the manor, we'd convince Emily's mom to come pick you up in her van instead of taking Drake, and you could stay for a few weeks."

"I don't know…" Lindsay said, warily, "I'm not sure my parents would buy that…"

Gabby had a few questions, too. "In the middle of the school year? And when would you come to get us? Also, my parents wouldn't believe it's a school thing if no one else goes. You'll need a flyer to make it believable, too."

"That's true," Emily agreed.

"You could go to school in Stonehill, I guess," Kara suggested, "We could make a flyer and have your parents sign it as a permission slip. That's believable."

Suddenly, Adriane blurted out, "I GOT IT! We could say that it's an honors program and you could follow us around school while you're there. The reason only the two of you are going is because you were the only ones picked. Like Kara said, we could make a flyer and make sure that your parents call the preserve for any questions. That way, they don't find out it's not school sponsored and we can make it more believable. It's on the preserve because it's a 'Learning through Nature' program. Tada!"

Even Lindsay liked that idea. "So I take it the time and date that you would pick us up would be on the flyer? That sounds great! My parents would definitely fall for that!"

Lindsay and Gabby recognized the sound of Lindsay's mom pulling in the drive way. The girls' eyes grew wide in panic and their animal friends disappeared in hiding.

"We got trouble," Lindsay announced.

"You have to go! NOW!" Gabby shouted.

"What? Why?" Zach asked, confused.

"My mom is home!" Lindsay squeaked, trying to shove the boy on his dragon.

"That's a bad thing?" Zach didn't quite understand.

"No. Not unless I have to explain to her what a huge red dragon, a wolf, a leopard, and strangers are doing in our yard." Lindsay explained, sarcastically.

"There's no time to go," Emily said, "She'll see us take off. We'll have to hide."

"How do suggest hiding a giant red dragon?" Gabby asked.

"In the trees, I guess," Emily replied, "It's the best we can do."

"You heard her!" Adriane started hurrying everyone to hide. "Get to the trees!"

Lyra hid on a nearby branch, Drake sat on the tops of the trees, Dreamer turned to mist, and the rest of the gang scurried into the bushes and ducked. Lindsay and Gabby put everything back on the porch and pretended to be playing.

Right on cue, Lindsay's mom came to check on the girls.

"Hi, Mom," Lindsay casually greeted her.

"Hi Mrs. Exeo," Gabby added, more formally.

"Hey girls," Mrs. Exeo said, "Dinner is at 6. Will Gabby be eating here?"

"Sure," Gabby supposed, "I'll call my mom later."

"Great," Mrs. Exeo said as she surveyed the yard. Then, she spotted something. "Why is your stuffed leopard in the tree?" She asked, pointing to Lyra.

"Umm…Uhh…" Lindsay stuttered.

"We put it up there while we were playing," Gabby bluffed, "We forgot to get it down. Sorry."

"No problem," Mrs. Exeo said before going inside," Don't forget to call your mom, Gabby."

The girls ran farther into the yard and behind some trees, after Mrs. Exeo had gone inside. The Ravenswood gang met there.

"That was a close one," Kara gasped.

_Tell me about it…_ Lyra sighed.

"You guys should go now," Lindsay said, "We can't risk you being seen."

Adriane groaned, "Your right. We'll drop the flyers off soon. See you guys."

The gang hopped onto Drake's back and said their goodbyes. The girls could not wait to see them again. Their game of pretend had just opened itself up to them. They were going to Ravenswood.

* * *

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	4. Chapter 3: Welcome

A green minivan pulled up to the front of Lindsay's house, where she and Gabby waited impatiently. Gabby's mom handed her a cell phone.

"Make sure you call me if anything happens, alright?"

Gabby nodded.

A middle aged woman rang the doorbell. Practically tackling each other to get to the door first, Gabby and Lindsay answered it. The woman smiled and introduced herself as Mrs. Fletcher. When the girls' mothers caught up with their daughters, they looked over Mrs. Fletcher carefully, analyzing the possible threat she could pose to their children.

Finally, Gabby's mother spoke, "Nice to meet you, Mrs. Fletcher. We should be able to contact them at anytime, correct?"

"Yes, of course," Mrs. Fletcher assured her, "If you can't reach them, you could call me as well. Here, I'll give you my number."

As Mrs. Exeo retrieved a pen and paper from the kitchen, the girls exchanged anxious glances. With each mother having Mrs. Fletcher's number at hand, the girls were finally off. They grabbed their bags and raced to the car. There, Emily, Adriane, and Kara helped them load their luggage into the trunk, smiles all around.

"It's nice to have you girls," Mrs. Fletcher said warmly, once everyone was loaded in the car, "This is Emily, Kara, and Adriane. They work the preserve."

"Nice to meet you." Emily winked from the passenger seat.

Gabby smiled back at her. "You too."

"Now," Mrs. Fletcher said, surveying the younger kids through the rear view mirror, "Which one of you is Lindsay and which is Gabby?"

"Mom," Emily moaned, "You sound like you're interrogating them. Don't scare them!"

"Yeah, Mrs. Fletcher," Adriane laughed, "You'll run them off before we even get there!"

"I was just asking," Mrs. Fletcher mumbled.

"Well, we all know I'm the greatest at people," Kara announced, "So I'll tell you which one is which."

She studied the two youngsters and pointed to Gabby, "You're Lindsay."

Gabby gaped at her, hoping she was joking. "No, I'm Gabby."

Adriane and Emily stared at Kara, dumbfounded, but pulled themselves together quickly. "Way to go, Barbie," Adriane sighed.

Kara blushed. "I'm not perfect you know!"

"Gran, we're back!" Adriane announced through her house.

An old woman came out of the room a few doors down the hall. "Oh, girls, welcome home. What are these young ones names?"

"I'm Lindsay, and this is Gabby," Lindsay declared proudly.

Gran laughed warmly. "You two have some spirit, I see. "

"Well, I'm just here to grab my stuff," Adriane explained, "We are all going to sleep in the manor tonight."

"No need to remind me, Little Wolf," Gran said, "I'm not that old!"

Adriane smiled and rushed off to retrieve her sleeping bag from her room. A moment later, she was back, supplies at hand. She had already set aside her things earlier. "Let's move out troops!"

"Yes, ma'am!" Emily giggled and saluted.

Following their seniors, Gabby and Lindsay let their surroundings set in. Neither could quite believe they were in Ravenswood, the center of all magic. As she slowed to peer down a side path into the forest, a small blue shape caught Lindsay's eye. But when she nudged Gabby to point it out, it was already gone.

The manor was bigger than the newcomers expected. Eyes bulging, they stared up at it in awe. Adriane didn't bother inviting them in. Instead, she threw everyone's stuff in the door and raced off towards the woods, urging the others to follow. The others shouted in protest and rushed to catch up with her.

Panting after the unexpected chase, Gabby and Lindsay stumbled behind the other three into a clearing. Gabby's face lit up as she recognized the giant rock and peaceful pond that had riddled her imagination. Lindsay was more interested in those that occupied the space; her eyes found the legendary ferret sitting by the pond immediately.

"No way!" Lindsay blurted and raced up to the fuzzy creature.

Ozzie backed up from the oncoming third grader. "Gah! What? What?"

"It really is you!" Lindsay exclaimed, kneeling in front of the ferret. She heard three giggles behind her.

"Don't hurt him, Lindsay," Adriane joked, walking up behind Lindsay, "He's a delicate little elf."

Ozzie puffed up his chest. "Am not! So, you're one of the new mages, huh?"

"Yep!" Lindsay proclaimed happily, "And over there is Gabby. Hey, I brought something for you."

Reaching into the pocket of her hoodie, Lindsay pulled out a container of pudding. "It's all I could find at home, but I heard you like food a lot."

Ozzie reached for the pudding hungrily. "This kid knows how to get on a guy's good side!"

Emily moaned, "Ozzie, you're supposed to be on a diet."

"That's why I didn't bring anything," Gabby said as she sat next to Lindsay.

"Well, it's easy to see which one of you takes after Emily," Ozzie grumbled, ripping open the top of the pudding and digging in.

Kara sighed, "Manners are wasted on you."

"Where is everyone?" Adriane asked, gazing around the near empty clearing.

"They went to spy on you guys," Ozzie explained, mouth full of pudding.

"Is that what you saw, Lindsay?" Gabby asked.

Lindsay nodded. "I thought I saw a brimbee."

"Wouldn't surprise me," Kara huffed, "Didn't they trust us to introduce the new kids to everyone?"

"By the way," Emily asked, "where are your bondeds?"

Gabby shrugged. "I guess it takes a bit to get here."

"But there was a D-fly," Kara pointed out, "It could just pop here."

Lindsay giggled. "Don't expect Cooper to hang around much. He likes to do his own thing unless I call him. It was just luck that he was with us that day."

_Sorry, we fell behind in order to stay hidden. Thunder and I can't stay in mist form and run at the same time for that long. _The caramel colored mistwolf appeared at the edge of the woods.

"Caramel! Mystic!" Gabby shouted in greeting.

The three animals bounded up to their mages shouting greetings.

_Packmate! _Thunder nudged Lindsay and nuzzled her side.

"Wow!" Ozzie exclaimed, "You weren't kidding when you said they have powerful bonds. And talk about a weird pairing! A unicorn and a mistwolf? That's unheard of."

Emily beamed proudly at Gabby. "It's a mix of two extremes."

"So is a D-fly and a mistwolf," Adriane pointed out.

"Speaking of which, how did you guys meet?" Kara asked suspiciously, "There's hardly any magic on Earth."

"Kara," Emily warned, "Don't accuse. Ravenswood is the center of magic now; we should expect more magic to be on Earth."

"Good point," Adriane agreed, "But I'm kind of wondering the same thing. Moonshadow keeps pretty good track of the pack. How did two wolves go astray?"

Lindsay shrugged. "I met Thunder in my backyard."

"I met Caramel on a bike ride through the neighborhood," Gabby agreed.

_None of us know where we came from, _Mystic explained; _the first thing all of us remember is meeting Gabby and Lindsay._

_What's this pack you're talking about? _Caramel asked.

"This is bad," Adriane muttered, "Two wolves that don't know the pack and don't remember where they're from? How did they end up with you guys?"

"We don't know," Lindsay insisted, "They just showed up."

The animals nodded they're agreement.

"Maybe Tweek would know," Emily suggested, "Where is he, Ozzie?"

Ozzie shrugged, wiping the last of the pudding off his face. "The last I saw that pile of twigs, he was heading to the Garden to report on Ravenswood's status."

"We'll ask him when he gets back," Kara decided.

"For sure," Emily agreed, "But for now, we need to set up for tonight."

Dusk was falling for Ravenswood, causing Gabby and Lindsay to squeal about being eaten by mosquitoes. After being assured by their seniors that the mosquitoes weren't as bad in Ravenswood, they made their way back to the manor.

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	5. Chapter 4: School is a Battlefield

Gabby was first to wake that morning. The sun had just risen, and the alarm hadn't even gone off yet. Carefully, she stepped over her companions to have first claim of the bathroom. Almost there, she tripped over Emily and hit her head on the door.

"Oww," Gabby moaned, sitting upright and rubbing her head.

Emily woke up and looked around sleepily. "Is it time to get up? I didn't hear the alarm."

"No," Gabby whispered, "You still have a bit to sleep."

Emily glanced at the clock. "Well, I might as well get up now, since it's only ten minutes earlier than the alarm. I'll go make some breakfast."

"Alright," Gabby agreed and headed to the bathroom to shower and get ready.

Ten minutes later, the alarm screamed and woke the others up. Kara lay in her sleeping back and groaned for someone to turn the nuisance off. Lindsay popped up, armed with her pillow and eyes wide. Adriane sat up, rubbed her eyes, and stumbled over to the alarm to turn it off.

"Alright, let's get going," Adriane commanded, "Get up, Kara."

Kara moaned and covered her head with a pillow. Adriane winked at Lindsay, who had lowered her pillow in a less threatening manner.

"Well, I guess you won't have time to get ready then," Adriane sighed, "What with everyone hogging the bathroom before you. I'd be surprised if you got a single drop of hot water."

Kara popped up, a wild look in her eyes. "I'm next in the bathroom!" She ran and sat next to the door.

Laughing, Adriane said, "It works every time."

As Gabby opened the door, Kara dove inside, startled Gabby, and made her jump. Kara slammed the door, leaving a giggling Adriane and Lindsay and a wide-eyed Gabby. Adriane and Lindsay left the room to change, both had taken showers at night, and Gabby told them there was breakfast in the kitchen downstairs. In twenty minutes, all five girls were downstairs in the kitchen and enjoying Emily's cooking.

"Gran put more food in this kitchen than I know what to do with!" Emily exclaimed, passing toast to Kara.

Adriane smiled. "Gran is known for going all out. I should have warned you."

"Well, I'm not complaining," Gabby said after finishing her second egg, "I love big breakfasts, and you're a great cook, Emily!"

Emily blushed. "Thanks."

Lindsay shrugged. "I'm more of a cereal person."

"I saw a few boxes of cereal in the pantry," Emily said, "You can have that instead if you want."

"Well, since you cooked all this food, I'll have it tomorrow," Lindsay decided.

"I don't know how you can choose cereal over a real breakfast," Kara sighed, "It's just not American."

Lindsay moaned, "That's what my whole family says!"

* * *

Adriane got on the bus first, since it was her stop. The others followed behind her and they sat at the back of the bus. Most of the passengers were half asleep in their seats, but one familiar face was interested in the extra little bodies boarding the bus. Joey got up from his seat to move farther back on the bus.

Once everyone was seated, and the bus was in motion, Joey peaked over his seat at Adriane sitting with Lindsay. "Who's the kid?"

"My name is Lindsay," Lindsay introduced herself curtly.

Adriane smiled at Lindsay's attitude. "She and her friend Gabby are shadowing us for a while. They're our test run kids for a new program at the preserve."

"Cool," Joey said, "What is it?"

"Learning through nature," Adriane explained.

"Well, I recommend you keep them close," Joey warned, "You don't want them getting picked on."

Lindsay looked up at him solemnly. "Gabby and I are used to that."

Joey's eyes grew a little. "Sorry," he muttered and sat back down.

"He's right though, Lindsay," Adriane insisted, "Stay with us. High school is a bit rougher than elementary school."

"Fine," Lindsay sighed and slumped in her seat.

* * *

Gabby followed Emily to her Geometry class and took a seat next to her. Emily was excited to impress Gabby with high school life and watched the girl's wondering expression with enthusiasm. So far, no one had really paid much attention to the two out of place little kids following her and her friends, and Emily was beginning to wonder what had everyone's attention.

She heard one of Kara's friends, Tiffany, whisper behind her, "I know! That new kid is so hot! It's weird how he never takes off his hat, though."

"Yeah, my brother says he has an excuse out of gym," another girl whispered back, "Do you think something is wrong with him?"

Tiffany giggled quietly, "I don't care! He's cute!"

Her question answered, Emily turned her concentration back to the lesson. Gabby fidgeted next to her, uncomfortable with the odds stares some kids were giving her. Because she was an honors student, she had a little bit of a clue what the class was talking about. Still, she was only in third grade and didn't understand everything the teacher was saying.

At the end of class, the teacher stopped Emily and Gabby. "Yes, ma'am?" Emily smiled cautiously, afraid they did something wrong.

"Don't worry, you aren't in trouble," The teacher laughed, "I just thought I'd recommend you explain the lesson to your shadow again after school. Teaching is an excellent way to study, and she is expected to learn something while she is here."

"Thank you for your consideration, ma'am," Gabby said politely.

The teacher smiled at the young girl. "No problem, it's great to see such willing young minds around here."

"Thanks, Mrs. Hays," Emily said as she lead Gabby out the door.

Just as the girls came through the door, a boy collided directly with Gabby. Gabby was knocked into the door and the boy stumbled, his hat coming off. He freaked out, ignoring the girl that he ran into for a moment, and frantically grabbed for his hat on the ground. Quickly shoving the thing over his brown hair, he surveyed the two he disrupted.

"Sorry," He apologized, "I didn't see you there."

Gabby was gaping at the boy's head. "It's okay."

Emily realized this must be the new boy, since she didn't recognize him. "Hey, I haven't seen you around before. What's your name?"

The boy smiled, much more relaxed now. "I'm new here. My name is Hunter."

"I'm Emily," Emily introduced herself and her younger friend, "This is Gabby."

To Gabby, Hunter asked, "Aren't you a bit young to be in high school?"

Gabby giggled, forgetting what about the boy's head had her captivated, "I'm shadowing Emily as part of an honors program."

"Wow," Hunter said endearingly, "You must be pretty smart, huh?"

Gabby beamed at him. "You bet!"

Emily glanced nervously at the clock. "We better get going. The bell is going to ring soon."

"Alright, nice to meet you guys," Hunter said, "Would you mind if I sat with you at lunch though? I don't know anyone yet."

Emily smiles. "Sure, look for us. We're pretty easy to spot."

Adriane dragged Lindsay through the lunch line, but the girl wasn't very hungry. "It's alright. I don't eat much," she kept insisting.

"You have to eat something," Adriane demanded, "It isn't good for you to skip lunch. Don't you want to be strong like me?"

Lindsay's eyes widened. "Yeah!" The girl grabbed an apple and milk out of the cooler.

"Good girl," Adriane praised her and smiled.

* * *

They met the rest of the group, plus Kara's other friends, by the usual table in the shade of a large tree. Kara was already gossiping about the new kid, Hunter. Adriane hadn't met him yet, but he was she'd heard about all day. Lindsay couldn't care less about some strange new boy in the school; she was new herself. Plus, she was far more interested in going back to Ravenswood to learn more magic.

Interrupting the group's flow of gossip, Emily said, "You guys might want to stop talking about him. It would be really awkward if he heard you."

"Why would he hear us?" Kara asked, "He'll probably sit with Kyle and his friends. Kyle has a thing for nabbing the new kids."

"He asked if he could sit with us," Gabby said shyly, not sure if she should be talking to the other older kids, "Emily told him he could."

Everyone stared at Emily with open mouths. "No way!" Heather exclaimed, "When did you talk to him?"

Gabby answered for her. "He ran me over."

No one commented; instead, they stared passed her to the boy now standing next to the table.

"Sorry again," Hunter said, startling Gabby and making her whip around to look at him.

His blue eyes were friendly as he asked if he could sit next to her.

Lindsay and Gabby scooted apart to make room for him. Lindsay did so grudgingly. The table sat in awkward silence as the majority of the girls simply stared at their new addition. Adriane cleared her throat to break the silence and snap the other girls out of their daze.

None of the others were willing to say anything, so Emily asked, "How do you like Stonehill so far?"

Hunter smiled. "It's great. I love the forest preserve you guys have. Most towns don't care to preserve nature."

Adriane beamed. "Thanks, I live there, but they help run it."

"Yeah," Molly grumbled, "And she always gets all the credit for it."

Lindsay growled, "Why does it matter who gets the credit? It's all for the animals, right?"

Molly sighed, "Yeah, sure, whatever. I just think it would be nice to get some appreciation."

"You're such a Barbie," Lindsay scoffed.

"Yeah, pipsqueak?" Molly threatened, "You better be careful what you say. You're on our territory."

"Calm down," Adriane whispered in Lindsay's ear, "It's not a big deal."

Lindsay growled, gripping the wooden table hard, "But she's being a jerk."

"Cut it out, Molly," Kara demanded, "She's just a little kid."

"Stay out of it, Kara," Molly snapped, "She's a little kid who needs to learn her place."

Lindsay growled again, gripping the wooden table even harder, but said nothing. She didn't want to disappoint Adriane.

"That's right, runt," Molly sneered, "Keep to your place."

"Hey, cut it out," Adriane insisted, "She just really likes the preserve."

Molly let out a short, mocking laugh. "Yeah, sure, it's the preserve she likes. You know as well I do that she's trying to be like you, Adriane."

Lindsay stood, slamming her hands on the table. "You may act like you're older and more mature but you're no better than bullies on an elementary school playground." The tree that was the source of their shade shook.

Gabby leaned across Hunter to whisper, "Don't make her any madder, Lindsay. We don't want a fight on our first day."

"Your friend is smarter than she looks," Molly mocked.

"That's it!" Lindsay screamed and launched herself across the table at Molly. Everyone watched, stunned, as Lindsay knocked Molly to the ground, her hands around Molly's throat.

"Take it back!" Lindsay demanded, shaking the girl by her neck, "Take back what you said about my friends!"

"Lindsay!" Adriane yelled, scrambling around the table to reach her. Kara and Emily jumped up too, trying to pry the furious little girl off of Molly. Hunter and Kara's other friends stayed at the table, watching in amazement. Gabby got up, but didn't want to get in the way.

After much yanking and struggling, Lindsay was in Adriane and Emily's grip, being held back. Kara tended to her friend, checking that she wasn't hurt. A few nearby tables had turned to observe the threatening child beating on the older girl, but no one alerted the lunch aids. Molly got away from her attack with only a headache and some suspicious looking marks on her throat to show. Kara led her away to the bathroom, trying to convince her not to tell anyone about the incident. Tiffany and Heather followed Kara to the bathroom. Adriane and Emily sat Lindsay down at the table again.

Adriane gripped Lindsay's head and made the girl look her in the eye. "Look at me. You will _never _anything like that again. Do you understand me?"

"Fine," Lindsay muttered, "But she had it coming."

"No excuses," Adriane barked, "Promise you won't do it again."

"I promise," Lindsay sighed.

Adriane released her and went to check on Kara and Molly. Gabby sat next to Lindsay, trying to calm her friend.

Emily sat across from them, next to Hunter. "Sorry about that," she apologized, "This isn't an everyday occurrence, just so you know."

"No problem." Hunter smiled. "I'm not going to lie; that was pretty funny."

Emily smiled back at him, but something caught her eye on the table. Where Lindsay had been gripping it, there were now burned handprints. She quickly covered them up, hoping Hunter hadn't noticed. Concentrating the best she could without drawing anyone's attention, Emily tried to heal the burned wood. When she lifted her hands away, the burns were still there but significantly faded. After all, Emily's skill was healing living things, not inanimate objects.

The bell rang and everyone slowly made their way back inside. Emily grabbed Gabby and led her to their next class. Lindsay stayed behind to wait for Adriane. Hunter waited until Emily and Gabby had gone before talking to the still grumbling little girl.

"Hey, I saw you move that tree, and you left burn marks in the table," Hunter told her.

Lindsay's eyes widened. "I don't know what you're talking about," she sputtered.

"Don't worry about it," Hunter laughed, "I'm a mage too."

Lindsay sighed in relief. "Good, I don't want to give them anymore reason to get mad at me."

"Yeah, but you can't tell them about me being a mage, alright?"

"Why not?"

"Well, some people don't like to have their identities know by everyone," Hunter explained hesitantly, "I don't want them asking me a bunch of questions either."

"Oh, alright."

"But if you want, I can teach you how to control that temper of yours."

Lindsay perked up. "Really?"

"Yeah, all you have to do is control your powers better. I can teach you in secret, so Adriane and everyone will be really impressed how strong you are."

"Cool! When would we meet?"

"I know where Ravenswood is. Meet me at the gate at midnight, when everyone is asleep."

* * *

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	6. Chapter 5: Train to Discover

"Zach should be here soon," Adriane said, checking her watch.

The three girls and their new apprentices sat in a circle in the glade, waiting for their friends from Aldenmor to arrive. The atmosphere was tense from the incident at lunch that day. Sensing this, Ozzie had baled and decided to ask questions later, when the mages weren't so high strung.

"Good," Kara sighed, "But until then, we have a matter to discuss."

"I'm really sorry," Lindsay muttered and lowered her head.

"Look, I get that Molly can be a royal pain sometimes," Kara explained, "But you can't go off on people like that. You might have been kicked out of our school. Then where would you be? Plus, now she's all upset with me for try to convince her not to tell the office."

"I'm sorry," Lindsay said again.

"Did she go to the office?" Adriane asked.

"Luckily, I convinced her that it wouldn't make a difference," Kara reassured them all; "She decided it would just be even more embarrassing for her."

Lindsay sighed in relief. "I thought I was done for. And I really am sorry. I lost control."

Emily patted Lindsay on the shoulder. "Don't stress about it. It will blow over. But speaking of losing control, I didn't realize just how powerful you are until you lost it."

"Yeah," Adriane agreed, "I saw the tree move."

"She also burned holes in the table," Emily informed them, "I had to try and patch them up before anyone saw."

Gabby elbowed Lindsay and smiled. "You're pretty strong. I hope I'm as strong as you."

Lindsay grinned, reassured. "I hope so too. It's no fun to be strong all alone."

"The only thing I'm worried about is if Hunter saw the burns," Emily groaned, "He was sitting right next to them, but I'm still not sure what he saw."

"That kid makes me a bit edgy," Adriane admitted, "He seems sort of suspicious."

Kara laughed. "Really? I thought he was cute."

Gabby shudders. "There's something weird about him. When be bumped into me, his hat came off, and I thought I saw cat ears on his head. Then, as soon as he started talking to us, I forgot about them until he left. And I forgot when I saw him again at lunch too."

Lindsay shrugged. "He hasn't really talked to me."

"Are you sure you saw cat ears?" Adriane asked, "That's really weird."

"Well, people were talking about him never taking his hat off and having an excuse out of gym," Emily pointed out, "I think we better keep an eye on him. He seems suspicious."

The subject was closed as the portal opened, and Zach stepped through with Lorren and Tasha in tow. Tasha held a small device that was going crazy in her hand, beeping and squealing. Lorren and Zach were carrying a bunch of different swords in bundles. They all smiled in greeting and the girls helped the boys with their load and laid the swords out in the grass.

Lorren took Kara's hand, kissed it, and hugged her. "Pleasure to see you again, Princess."

Kara blushed. "Nice to see you too, Lorren."

Lindsay and Gabby circled the goblins and studied them. Tasha and Lorren shifted uncomfortably under their speculation. Lindsay poked Lorren's arm as if to see if it was real.

"What?" Tasha asked, confused.

Lindsay tilted her head and tapped her chin, thinking. "You aren't as green as I imagined you."

The older kids burst out laughing. Lorren leaned down and messed up Lindsay's hair. "Sorry to disappoint you," he chuckled, "You seem to know us. What is your name?"

Lindsay smirked. "Yeah, we know you. You're Lorren and that's Tasha. I'm Lindsay. I'm going to be a warrior like Adriane."

"Oh?" Lorren smiled at the girl's enthusiasm. "And who is this?" he asked, gesturing to Gabby.

Gabby beamed at him. "I'm Gabby. I'm going to be a healer!"

Lorren chuckled as Kara moaned next to him. "Do you see my dilemma?" she exclaimed, "I'm without a follower!"

"Zach told us," Tasha explained, "That's why I brought my Fairy Finder."

Everyone stared at her blankly.

"Do explain," Adriane said.

"Well, the name explains it." Tasha shrugged. "It finds fairies. Anyone of with fairy blood in them will make it go off. The meter on it shows how much of them is fairy."

"I'm still not seeing how this has to do with me not having an apprentice," Kara said.

Tasha sighed, "If they have fairy in them, it might mean they have some Blazing Star qualities."

"Oh," Kara perked up, "Then, let's try it."

Tasha started with Lindsay slowly scanning her from head to toe. Lindsay could hardly stay still under the speculation. The device beeped and the little meter on the screen filled up a little bit.

"What's it say?" Lindsay asked.

Tasha stared at it a bit and pushed a few more buttons. Finally, she said, "You're about ten percent fairy. Somewhere, you have a distant relative that was a fairy."

"Huh, that's cool." Lindsay smiled, pleased with this new find. "Now, try Gabby."

Tasha scanned Gabby, pushed a few more buttons, and said, "You're thirty percent. That's higher, but not quite Blazing Star material. Sorry, Kara, you're out of luck."

Kara moaned, "Dang, so close."

"Are you sure, though?" Emily asked, "Because I think it sort of explains how they bonded with a unicorn and a D-fly."

"Wow," Tasha exclaimed, "That would explain why. And those are some pretty strong bonds for such little kids."

"Well, let's get down to business," Zach said, "Each of you choose a sword."

"Cool!" Lindsay and Gabby squealed and dove for the pile of swords.

Lorren surveyed them in confusion. "I've never seen two little girls get so excited about swords."

The girls rummaged through sword after sword, swinging them to try each out. Lindsay pulled out the biggest one she could find and attempted to swing it, nearly taking out Zach's leg. He yelped and made her put it back, insisting she would never be able to use it if it was twice the size of her. She moaned and tried out a different one. Gabby was much more realistic with what she could use and found a long, double edged sword with a basket guard on it. She waved it around as a test and smirked, satisfied with the feel of it. Everyone waited on Lindsay, as she had difficulty choosing a sword.

"Start small," Lorren recommended.

Finally, Lindsay found two single edged swords, both nearly dagger-sized. They were slightly curved and had no guard. Holding one in each hand, she whirled around with them. Gabby backed away, not wanting to get hit by her twirling friend.

"These are cool," Lindsay giggled, finally staying still.

"Alright, but don't get too excited," Zach warned, "We need to get you guys geared up before you point that at anyone."

A few minutes later, the little girls were covered from head to toe in soft leather padding. Lorren and Zach geared up as well and grabbed their swords. The other three girls backed to the edge of the clearing to watch.

"First, let's see how you two do against each other," Lorren instructed, "And remember, no aiming for the head."

Lindsay attacked first, aiming for Gabby's legs. Angling her sword down, Gabby blocked her attack and flipped Lindsay's hand in the air. Gabby aimed a blow to Lindsay's side, taking advantage of her guard being down. Lindsay took the blow hard and hit the ground. Popping up right away, Lindsay came back ferociously. She aimed for Gabby's legs once again, but this time, when Gabby blocked, she used her speed and second sword to land a blow to Gabby's side. Gabby stumbled backwards but quickly regained her footing.

Gabby made her move, a well aimed blow to the legs. Lindsay fell to ground once again. This time, as she used her speed to aim a double blow to Gabby's shoulders and side, a shadow raced out of the bushes towards them.

_Thunder, don't! _Caramel exclaimed from the edge of the clearing.

Just as Lindsay was about to land the blow on Gabby's side, Thunder jumped in the way. He went down with a yelp, bleeding from his flank. The girls dropped their weapons and knelt down with him, crying frantically for Emily's help.

_I'm sorry, _Thunder whimpered, _I was trying to help you win._

"Hush, Thunder," Lindsay commanded, "Emily can heal you. Can't you, Emily."

Now, everyone was huddled around the young mistwolf, trying to reassure him that he'd be alright. Emily inspected him, running her hands over the wound. She explained that the wound wasn't too deep and should be simple to heal.

"This is a perfect opportunity to teach you how to heal, Gabby," Emily said.

Gabby hesitated. "I'll watch you do it first."

"No, just put your hands under mine," Emily insisted, "I'll do for you what Phel did for me. I'll channel the magic through you."

"I guess," Gabby agreed.

Gabby put her hands over Thunder's cut, and Emily put her hands over Gabby's. Emily closed her eyes and looked for Thunder's heart beat. A few moments later, her expression shifted to confusion and she opened her eyes.

"What's wrong?" Lindsay asked anxiously.

"I can't lock onto his heart beat," Emily explained, "It's not there. I mean, I can feel it when I put my hand on his chest, but it's not there when I look for it with my magic."

"Can you find it, Gabby?" Lindsay demanded.

Gabby fidgeted uncomfortably under Lindsay's panicked pressure. "I'll try."

Gabby put her hands over Thunder's wound once again and closed her eyes. A minute later, she smiled and the others watched as the gash slowly closed up and disappeared. Thunder got up, shook himself off, and licked Gabby's face.

_Thank you, thank you!_ Thunder yipped, _I'll never get in the way again!_

Emily gaped at Gabby. "I don't understand. His heart beat wasn't there. I was like I was imagining it until I was looking for it."

Gabby tilted her head. "I found it easily. It was really loud."

Emily shook her head in disbelief and put her hands back on Thunder. "Nothing! There's nothing there!"

"Are you sure, Emily?" Adriane asked anxiously, "You didn't just miss it?"

"No," Emily insisted, "No matter how hard I look, it isn't there. I feel it on my hand, but my magic can't find it. It's almost like the heartbeat is fake."

_I'm definitely not fake,_ Thunder argued, poking Emily with his paw to demonstrate.

Emily vigorously shook her head, confused beyond reason. "I know that. Ugh, we need Tweek here."

"I saw him in the Garden," Zach reassured her, "He said he was coming back today."

"Well, until then, we should investigate by ourselves," Lorren decided, "We can't always turn to others for answers. Sometimes we have to look for our own answers."

Kara said, "What really has me confused is how none of them know where they are from."

"Yeah," Adriane agreed, "Storm didn't know where she was from either but she remembered things from before she met me."

Thunder shook his head. _This first thing I remember is finding Gabby and Lindsay talking in the backyard. I didn't even know my name; Lindsay named me._

"Wait, you didn't know your name?" Emily gasped, "Were all of you like that?"

"None of them remembered their name," Gabby explained, "We named them."

Emily furrowed her eye brows, deep in thought. "I have an idea. Would you call Cooper, Lindsay?"

"Sure." Lindsay shrugged. "Cooper!"

_Pop!_

Cooper tackled Lindsay's head in a hug. _Lelee!_

Emily called Cooper over and put her hand on his stomach. Closing her eyes, she concentrated, attempting to find his heartbeat. She grumbled in frustration and let him go.

"Alright, it's as I thought," Emily sighed, "I can't find his heartbeat either. But he's a fairy creature, right? Tasha, would you scan him?"

"But it would come up one hundred percent," Tasha pointed out in confusion.

Emily nodded in agreement. "It should, but I want to see."

Tasha instructed Cooper to stay as still as possible and slowly passed the scanner in front of him. The little machine beeped, and Tasha pressed a few buttons to bring up the results. Gaping, Tasha showed the meter to Emily.

"He's only ten percent fairy," Tasha explained in astonishment, "I don't understand. Dragon-flies are pure fairy creatures."

Kara realized something. "Hey, wasn't Lindsay's percentage also ten?"

Tasha nodded.

Emily was still thinking. "Scan Thunder."

"But mistwolves aren't fairy creatures," Tasha objected.

"I know, but I have a weird feeling," Emily said.

Tasha scanned Thunder and fiddled with her contraption until the meter popped up on the screen. She shook her head in disbelief and scanned him again. Checking that the machine still worked, she scanned Kara and came up with the correct results.

"Well," Emily prompted.

"Thunder came up with ten percent fairy too," Tasha said.

Adriane gasped, "But mistwolves aren't fairy creatures. Are you sure that thing is working?"

"Yes!" Tasha defended her technology, "I tested it on Princess Kara to make sure!"

"So what does this mean?" Lorren asked.

"I don't know," Emily admitted, "But I think Thunder and Cooper might be part of Lindsay."

Kara groaned in frustration, "We aren't getting anywhere fast with this. We need Tweek."

"I could send Cooper to go get him," Lindsay offered.

_I go get pile of twigs! _Cooper chirped and popped away.

"I hope he knows what pile of twigs we are talking about," Zach said.

Adriane giggled, "I think he's been hanging out with Ozzie."

_Pop!_

_He coming!_ Cooper announced proudly.

As Cooper said, the portal opened a moment later, and Tweek stumbled out. His quarts eyes surveyed the scene and he came over to inspect Cooper. Cooper buzzed around him with curiosity before settling on Lindsay's shoulder.

"Another one, Kara?" Tweek asked.

Kara shook her head. "No, he's Lindsay's."

"Oh my twig, I forgot about the new mages!" Tweek fretted, "I don't understand how the Fairimentals expect you to train young mages when you haven't even been trained yourselves!"

"You're as annoying as Ozzie says," Lindsay grumbled.

"Be polite," Gabby scolded her in a whisper, "He wasn't annoying in the books."

The older mages calmed Tweek down and explained the issue of the animals not having heartbeats and sharing the same percentage of fairy in them as Lindsay. Tweek instructed them to scan Gabby's two bondeds, and they came up with the same percentage as Gabby. The animals explained once again that they had no memory before meeting Gabby and Lindsay. Tweek pulled out his newly updated HORARFF and scanned through it.

"Ah, here we go," Tweek said, "There's been a new kind of magic released on Earth due to the reweaving of the web."

"Well, what is it?" Emily demanded.

"Technically, it has existed on Earth for ages, but it's become even stronger now," Tweek explained, "They call it Imagination."

Lindsay giggled, "You sound like one of those posters in the classroom."

"Yeah," Gabby agreed, "There's one in my classroom just like that. It says: 'Imagination is magic!'"

"No," Tweek grumbled, "This is real magic, not just creativity. And you two use it yourselves."

Lindsay and Gabby exchanged glances. "What do you mean?" Gabby asked.

"From the sound of it, your bonded animals were created by your imaginations," Tweek elaborated, "So, they are extensions of yourselves. There isn't much information about it here, but the Fairimentals believe that the animals were originally just figments of your imaginations."

_I'm not a fake! _Thunder grumbled.

Carmel nodded in agreement. _But we aren't exactly like Gabby. In fact, we are pretty different._

_Yeah, and everyone can see us, _Mystic added.

"I said originally," Tweak continued, "Overtime, you developed your own personalities and magic."

"So why can't I heal them?" Emily asked, "Because they aren't technically real?"

"I suppose because you don't use that magic," Tweek mused, "Perhaps, only those who have strong imaginary magic can bond with and heal them."

Lindsay nudged Gabby. "Did you hear that? We're special!"

The older mages laughed at her proclamation, and the apprentices beamed.

Zach messed up their hair. "Oh, you're special alright," he chuckled.

* * *

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	7. Slamming the Book

Lindsay tiptoed around her friends, shoved a pair of jeans on over her shorts, and slipped into her shoes. Quietly as possible, she made her way out of the manor. She breathed a sigh of relief when she closed the large front door behind her and ran off down the main path. Hunter was already waiting for her at the gate.

"Hey," he greeted her with a smile, "What took you so long?"

"I fell asleep for a while," Lindsay admitted, "But the others were just as tired, so I'm sure no one followed me."

"What had you guys so exhausted?"

"Gabby and I learned to sword fight today. And then, Thunder got hurt, so Gabby learned how to heal him. Adriane had the losers of our fights do pushups."

"Who is Thunder?"

"Oh, he's my friend. He was trying to help me win the fight and got hit by my sword."

"You're friend?"

"Yeah, my friend," Lindsay repeated, "He's a wolf."

"A mistwolf?" Hunter gasped.

Lindsay beamed proudly. "Yep, he's the greatest. He and Cooper help me do magic."

"You have two bonds?"

"Well, yeah, but Cooper doesn't hang around much, so I'm not sure if he counts."

"Alright, we're wasting time here," Hunter decided, "Let's get started. The first thing you need to do is learn to draw your magic in."

Hunter instructed Lindsay to imagine all the energy inside her body bundling into a ball in her chest. He demonstrated for her, and a circle of green light glowed on his torso. Amazed, Lindsay tried eagerly to make a similar circle appear on her chest to no avail. She squeezed her eyes shut and concentrated harder on a circle appearing on her chest.

"It's not working!" Lindsay moaned.

Hunter sighed. "Don't worry about the glow. It will appear if you do it right. Concentrate on bringing all your energy to the center of your body."

Closing her eyes to focus, Lindsay tried again. This time, she pictured it her head and contained all her energy into one little circle on her stomach. The circle glowed bright gold through her t-shirt. Lindsay opened her eyes a bit to peek at her progress and beamed.

"Good job!" Hunter praised her, "That was must faster than I learned it."

"How does that help me with my anger though?" Lindsay questioned him.

"Well, if you can contain your powers, there's no reason you can't contain your anger," Hunter pointed out.

Lindsay nodded. "That makes sense."

"But you know what's really cool about doing that?" Hunter purred, "You can draw on other people's power too."

* * *

Lindsay slammed the book closed, tears streaming down her face. "I can't read anymore."

Gabby held her friend as Lindsay sobbed. "It's alright. We don't have to read it. I didn't know it would tell that story."

Gabby got up and stared down at the mysterious book they had found in Lindsay's closet in her new house. _The Book of Remembrance,_ it read. It had appeared blank when they first opened it, but words of that dreaded story contaminated the pages moments later. During the prologue of how she and Lindsay met all the way to the chapter about them going to Stonehill High, they had been smiling, but when the book started mentioning Hunter, Lindsay became more and more upset and finally couldn't take it anymore. After two years apart, the two were finally together again, and Gabby didn't want to end her visit with crying. She put the book into her bag and vowed to read it when she got home.

Sitting next to her, Gabby put her arm around Lindsay's shoulders. "We all know you didn't want to do it."

"I didn't want to hurt anybody," Lindsay whimpered.

"Do you still have those episodes?" Gabby whispered.

Lindsay shook her head. "Not since I moved to Illinois."

"Ears and tail?"

"Only when I sleep."

"How is Illinois? Do you like fifth grade?" Gabby asked, trying to change the subject.

Lindsay nodded. "Well, I've made some friends here. And Thunder and Silence love having the forest preserve behind us to roam in. Um, school is school, sort of boring. I just got back from a really fun camp though."

Gabby smiled. "Camp sounds cool. And Caramel says they're living the highlife."

"It was. And I guess they are." Lindsay shrugged. "But Thunder misses living in the middle of the woods."

"But the forest preserve doesn't have a bunch of houses in the way."

"That's true. I think he just misses Caramel, though he always complains about her."

Gabby sighed, "Yeah. We miss you guys."

"Hey Gabby, would you ever go back there?"

Gabby was silent for a bit. "I think I would, if they called me. It would be nice to see them again."

Lindsay nodded. "I guess I would. I don't know if I could handle it though."

"What do you mean? I know it would bring back bad memories, but what's the worst that could happen? No one there blames you."

"I know, but I might have an episode," Lindsay explained quietly.

"Then Emily and I would both be there to heal you. None of us would let anything happen to you."

Lindsay shook her head. "You don't get it. I would hurt someone. And it would remind everyone all over again."

"I would never let you hurt anyone," Gabby affirmed, "Let's just hope that never happens anyway though. Plus, we haven't heard from them for almost two years."

Lindsay laughed harshly. "Of course we haven't. Why would we?"

Gabby stood abruptly and stared down at her friend. "Would you stop thinking like that? No one would ever hold that against you! The only one who still blames you is yourself!"

"I guess," Lindsay whispered, "But that's because I don't deserve to be forgiven."

"Someday, I swear someone will make you see sense. You didn't want to do it! You were forced to! Hunter was going to kill all three of you if you hadn't!"

"Yeah," Lindsay muttered, "And if you hadn't gotten there, I would be the only one left standing. Either way, if it hadn't been for you, both would have died."

Gabby growled, "You helped heal them too."

"No, I just gave you my power."

They were interrupted by Lindsay's mother calling, "Gabby, your mom is here!"

Gabby stared down at Lindsay before packing her things. "Before I go, that book is longer than the story. I want to see how it ends."

"Whatever you want." Lindsay shrugged.

Gabby dug the book out from her bag and flipped to the back pages. Slowly, the blank pages revealed words. As Gabby read, it described two teenage girls arriving in Ravenswood. One argued with another boy about someone's stupid prank. Gabby closed the book in annoyance.

"I'm going to read this and then call you," she declared to Lindsay.

"Alright," Lindsay sighed, "I hope we see each other again. Have fun in the city."

* * *

"Hello?" Lindsay picked up the phone later that day.

"Hey, it's Gabby."

"Oh, hi! How was the city?"

"Really fun, but that's not why I called. I read the book."

Lindsay was silent for a minute. "And what did it say?"

Gabby smiled even though she knew no one could see it. "We have something to look forward to. And I can sleep knowing that, one day, some boy will make you forgive yourself."

Lindsay sighed in disbelief. "So what, now you're a prophet?"

"No, I'm throwing the book away. That way, I won't remember the details by the time it all happens. I'll just know that we get a happy ending."

"Why would you do that?"

"If I know every detail of what happens, I might mess it up on accident. Haven't you read enough fantasy books? Knowing the details of the future always ends in disaster."

"Okay, whatever you say. I just hope we meet again."

"Me too."

Only, Gabby knew it would be years until the friends would see each other again.

* * *

**I'm being threatened. Review to save me!  
**


	8. My, How We've Grown

**Note: I've decided to make Lindsay and Gabby a bit different than in real life for fear of it becoming too personal. It also let's me make the story that much more interesting.**

* * *

A shadow fell over the Ravenswood glade, and everyone gathered to welcome yet another mage to camp. This was the second year Ravenswood's Magic Mastering Camp had been open, and Avalon's three mages were overrun with students returning and making their first appearance. With so many students, the instructors had to call on their very first apprentices to help them. They never expected to see such a shadow appear.

As the shadow's creator drew nearer, some students became uncomfortable with the negative energy drawing nearer. Kara shielded her eyes from the sun as she looked up at the figure and smiled. The black griffon was new to her, but she would recognize the rider's face anywhere. She sent a student to the manor to retrieve Adriane, Zach, and Emily. Attempting to calm troubled kids as she went, Kara made her way through the crowd.

Finally, the creature landed, careful not to knock anyone over with its powerful wings. It was smaller than the few griffons that Kara had seen but massive nonetheless. Off its back slid a jet black mistwolf with golden eyes and, after it, a teenage girl. The girl looked around searchingly through the crowd, black ringed brown eyes narrowed, before settling her gaze on Kara and smirking.

Kara at last made it to the front of the crowd, eyes on the girl, and said, "Well, it really has been a long time, hasn't it?"

The girl's smirk grew. She tucked a strand of light brown hair behind her ear and said, "Wow, you are old."

Kara laughed and hugged the girl. "Welcome back, Lindsay."

Lindsay beamed but was obviously uncomfortable in Kara's embrace. "Is Gabby here yet?"

"No, you're first to get here," Kara replied and gestured to the crowd, "You can see we need your help."

Some kids had gone back to greeting their friends from last year and welcoming newcomers, but some were still watching wide eyed at the exchange taking place. Lindsay shifted uncomfortably under their gazes, "I guess, but you should know I don't do well with people."

Kara didn't get a chance to answer as three figures broke through the crowd and rushed over to them. "Zach! Emily! Adriane!" Lindsay greeted them with enthusiasm.

Zach stopped in his tracks, gazing up at the magnificent griffon in front of him. The beast eyed him with slight interest but soon grew bored and settled next to Lindsay once again. The mistwolf at Lindsay's feet popped its head up with curiosity when the three approached.

Adriane and Emily acknowledged the beast but were more interested in its rider. "Look how big you are!" Emily gushed.

_I'm feeling slightly ignored. _The mistwolf grumbled beside Lindsay.

Adriane smiled and knelt down to its level. "Well, take a look at you!" She ruffled his fur and patted his head, "You aren't a pup anymore; are you, Thunder?"

_No, ma'am. _Thunder proclaimed proudly. _Where is Dreamer?_

"Dreamer is in the portal field taking care of the student's bondeds and waiting for Marlin and Lorren to come," Emily informed him.

Thunder gave Lindsay an inquiring look, and she said, "Why would I stop you?"

He gave her a wolfish grin and raced off towards the field.

Zach finally ripped his eyes away from the griffon to greet Lindsay. He grabbed her head and turned it from side to side. He smiled. "No fuzzy ears?"

Lindsay gave them all an uncertain look. "They still pop up unwanted at times, but I otherwise have them under control."

"Good," Zach said, "Now, would you care to introduce us to your rather quiet friend?"

"Yeah," Kara agreed, "That's one quiet griffon, especially compared to Scream."

Lindsay smiled. "This is Silence. I met him while traveling around Aldenmor. He was orphaned in the mountains."

"His name suits him," Adriane remarked, stroking the griffon's beak.

"I've never heard him make a noise." Lindsay shrugged.

Zach put his arm around Adriane and pulled her against him. "Well, that means you can teach a flying class," he said.

Lindsay didn't even process the words he said because she was so dumbstruck by his action. "Wait! Are you two _together?"_

Her four seniors stared at her for a moment and then busted out laughing. "Lindsay, we're _married_," Adriane giggled and held her hand out to show off her ring.

"Oh jeez," Lindsay muttered, "How long have I been gone?"

"A bit longer than six years," Emily informed her, "We're in college now."

"I'm almost fifteen now so that's," Lindsay counted on her fingers. "Wow, you're right."

"By the way," Kara asked, "Why didn't you and Gabby come together?"

Lindsay gave her a stunned look and then something occurred to her. "I don't live in New Jersey anymore."

"You don't?" Adriane exclaimed, "That's why Gabby said she'd call you instead of sending us to you!"

"Yeah," Lindsay said, "I live near Chicago now."

Zach gestured to Silence, who was now fast asleep. "That would explain why he's wiped out."

"We flew here," Lindsay explained, "I told my mom I'm at a camp based on the books, which is true enough, and she thinks a van picked me up at the airport. I asked a friend to drop me off."

"Excellent," Emily praised her, "We taught you well."

Lindsay smirked. "Well, in case you're wondering, Gabby is probably going to have her mom drop her off at the front gate."

"Let's go welcome her, then," Kara said excitedly, "I hope she grew more than you did. You're still short."

"Thanks," Lindsay groaned, and then woke Silence. "Hey, go find Thunder and you can sleep in that clearing."

Silence nodded and took off. The six senior mages made their way through the crowd of students once again and raced down the path towards the front gate.

* * *

"Mom, this is it," Gabby said, pointing to the big iron gates that read _Ravenswood Forest Preserve_, "Pull up here."

"Alright, calm down," her mother sighed, and stopped the car, "Have fun. I'll miss you."

Gabby jumped out of the car and grabbed her stuff. "I'll miss you too, Mom. See you, Daniella. Bye Bye, Lexi," she said her goodbyes to her family.

Smiling at the familiar faces waiting just inside, Gabby ran through the entrance with enthusiasm. Her friends were older but still easily recognizable. Lindsay still had that dark glint about her that she didn't try hard to hide but was smiling nonetheless. She wasn't surprised to see Adriane and Zach holding hands and welcoming her with open arms. Emily was beaming at her former student and practically oozing excitement. Kara looked like she can hardly contain herself enough to stand still.

"Hey, freak," Lindsay greeted her, "How are you holding up in that crazy town?"

Gabby smiled at her sarcastic name. "Fine, there have been some other new kids. We kind of stick together. How is Illinois? Are those rich kids nice to you?"

Lindsay laughed. "I hold up alright. I just had to get used to the kids who get a brand new Corvette on their sixteenth birthday and expect nothing less."

"Hey!" Emily burst, "Say hello to your former masters, miss!"

Gabby laughed and hugged Emily. "Of course, how could I ignore you guys?"

"Are Caramel and Mystic on their way?" Adriane asks.

For a moment, Gabby stared at her in confusion. "Mystic? Why would Mystic come?"

All of them gaped at her in shock. "Because she's your bonded?" Kara suggests sarcastically.

Something occurred to Gabby and she exclaimed, "Oh! Mystic is my paladin now! She won't be coming because she's busy teaching at the Unicorn Academy. I hadn't even realized that you guys don't know Amity."

"Who is Amity?" Zach asked.

"You'll meet her. " Gabby smirked. "They should be here soon. I told them to go straight to the portal field."

"We were going to head there next anyway," Emily said, "Marlin and Lorren were going to help us settle the students and they'll be coming through there soon."

Zach sighed and led the way, "Plus, I need to check on how Alex is holding up."

Adriane elbowed him. "Give the kid some credit. He tries hard."

"He's full of himself," Zach argued.

"Who is this?" Lindsay asked.

Zach laughed harshly. "Alex is a student that came last year. He thinks he's a big shot because his griffon Scream is fast."

"Huh," Lindsay scoffed, "Sounds like a jerk. I bet Silence and I could beat him."

Emily giggled, "Zach is hard on him. He really is a good kid and an excellent healer."

Gabby jumped up in excitement. "He's a healer? Cool! Are there a lot of other healers?"

Emily shrugged. "This year we have a lot more kids. Who knows? Last year we had a few healers, a few warriors, a few blazing stars, and quite a few that didn't fit into any category."

"Like us?" Lindsay suggested glumly.

Adriane nodded, "Yeah, like you guys."

As the gang neared the portal field they heard a cry of frustration and then, "When I catch you, you're going to be a snack for the dragons!" This was followed by a series of giggled taunts.

Zach rushed ahead into the field and confronted a dirty blond teenage boy. "What's going on?"

The boy paced with aggravation and held his head. "They created an illusion of hundreds of snakes over by the Pegasus and unicorn tent. All the animals freaked out and won't calm down!"

"Who did?" Gabby whispered the question to Emily.

Emily sighed and shook her head. "I have a feeling he's referring to the twins Cinder and Erin. They're the known troublemakers of this camp. If a prank is pulled, more than likely it was them who pulled it."

"I think I can calm the animals," Gabby offered to Zach, who was trying to calm the teenager down.

The teenager scoffed, "Good luck with that! Even I couldn't do it."

Lindsay stalked up to him and got right up into his face. "You must be Alex. I have a word of advice for you: never doubt Gabby's abilities."

Alex stared at her in shock as she stalked away with Gabby to go calm the animals. "Who is she?" he asked the smirking Zach.

"That would be Lindsay, your new flight coach and possibly battle instructor," Zach chuckled.

"What?" Alex exclaimed, "She's younger than me! She must be like thirteen!"

Kara was now practically busting ribs. "She's your age, Alex," she choked out, "And much stronger than you!"

Alex groaned, "Either way, I say she's got issues."

"Why?" Adriane asked sarcastically, "Because she set you straight?"

"No!" Alex said defensively, "Because her emotions are like a storm ready to wreak havoc."

"She's had some rough times in the past," Emily explained, "Ravenswood must remind her of it."

"Why would you have someone like that teach us?" Alex objected.

Zach clapped him across the head. "Respect her. She and Gabby were our first apprentices."

Alex held the side of his head, and his eyes widened. "They are the ones who brought a D-fly back to life?"

"Yeah," Emily confirmed, "Now do you understand why Lindsay snapped at you?"

"I snapped at him because his arrogance pissed me off," Lindsay announced her presence from the top of the tree next to Emily.

Everyone's heads whipped around to where she was perched looking down on them. "I don't like to be talked about behind my back."

"We weren't talking negatively about you," Alex snapped, "You should be honored to be praised so highly by your masters."

"Sure, whatever you say," Lindsay sighed in disbelief, "That's not what I heard. Anyway, Gabby is going to stay down there to wait for Amity and Caramel. I'm going after the punks who pulled the prank."

"Don't bother," Alex snarled, "They're mine."

"Silence!" Lindsay called.

Alex's jaw dropped. "Don't silence me!" he snarled, "You don't have the right."

Everyone stared at him with amusement. "What?" he demanded.

"Wait for a moment and you'll see what's so funny." Lindsay smirked.

The black griffon trotted his way over from across the field. He stopped next to Lindsay's tree and lifted his head up. Lindsay smiled and slid from the beast's neck onto its back.

She rubbed his feathers and surveyed Alex's stunned expression. "This is Silence. You think your griffon Scream is really fast, right? We'd love to race you."

Alex shook his head to clear his expression and smirked. "We'd love to beat you."

"Can't wait to see the disappointment on your face," Lindsay countered and turned to Zach, "What do the twins look like?"

"They are blond and blue eyed," Zach informed her, "You'll probably see them riding dragons when you're up there."

Lindsay looked up into the sky and narrowed her eyes. "Are the dragons black and white?"

"Yeah, Dusk is black and Dawn is white," Adriane confirmed, "They're young and are responsible for keeping Ravenswood under a veil of illusion, so don't expect them to listen to you."

"Don't worry about me," Lindsay scoffed, "I don't take crap from little kids. I make the worst babysitter."

With that, Lindsay took off on Silence's backed toward the two dots circling in the sky. They looked like a Yin Yang symbol as they seemingly chased each other in a circle. Lindsay soon learned why. The riders had their eyes closed, and their jewels were floating in front of them. The jewels were pulsing halves of a Yin Yang. The girl's was the black Yang half, and the boy had the white Yin half. Both kids were so deep in concentration that neither noticed when Silence began to circle them in sync with the boy and the black dragon. The dragons tried to get the kids' attention but were ignored.

_Nice work down there, but I recommend you pick a better target to tick off Alex._ Lindsay thought at them.

Both twins' eyes flicked open in astonishment, and the boy almost fell off his dragon. "Who are you?" The boy sputtered.

Lindsay smiled and tried to appear friendly. "I'm Lindsay. I'll be teaching here this summer. What are your names?"

"I'm Erin," The girl introduced herself, "And that's my brother Cinder."

Cinder gestured to the dragons. "This is Dusk, and that white one is Dawn."

"Nice to meet you," Lindsay greeted them, "As I was saying, you did a nice job down there on that prank, but if you really want to piss Alex off, you should have spooked the griffons."

Erin eyed her. "Why would you say that if you are bonded with a griffon yourself?"

Lindsay smirked. "Because Silence doesn't spook. And that would tick off Alex even more."

"That's awesome!" Cinder exclaimed, "You're a genius!"

Erin still wasn't so sure of the new instructor. "How did you do that earlier? I thought you could only communicate through jewels if you know the person and have worked together with their jewel; only animals can do that."

Lindsay shifted uncomfortably. "It's one of my abilities. I don't like to use it much, but I needed your attention."

"Why don't you like to use it?" Cinder asked.

"It's a long story, kid," Lindsay said, "Anyway, I came up here to meet the masterminds of this plot, but the others think I came up to lecture you. So tell me, how good are you at acting?"

Cinder and Erin exchanged glances. "We're excellent," Erin confirmed, "Are you going to get us out of trouble?"

"I was going to kill you when I first saw the tent of animals," Lindsay admitted, "But once I realized why you did it, to tick Alex off, I admired your work. So, yeah, I'm going to get you off the hook. All you have to do is act really ashamed of what you did."

"And what are you going to do?" Cinder demanded, "Sit there and let them lecture us to death?"

"No," Lindsay laughed, "I'm going to act really mad, so they think I already did their work for them. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if they felt bad for you."

Erin burst out, "We're in! But I have to warn you, Alex can tell if you're guilty or not."

Lindsay smiled. "Follow my lead."

The three of them made their landing and hopped off to face Zach, Alex, and Adriane waiting where they left them. Alex's eyes could light them all on fire. Zach looked annoyed, but Adriane just looked bored and slightly anxious.

Lindsay took the twins by the shirts and dragged them up to Zach. "Apologize," she demanded.

"Sorry, Zach," They practically cried.

Zach looked at Lindsay, stunned. "What did you do? Rip them to pieces?"

Lindsay shrugged. "Something like that."

Zach turned his attention back to the twins. "You guys look like you've already had your punishment. Go help Adriane with the new students and remember your lesson."

The twins sniffled and nodded, but as they followed Adriane towards the glade, Cinder turned to wink at Lindsay. Lindsay winked back and tried not to smirk.

"Wait!" Alex objected, "Why didn't I get an apology?"

Lindsay shrugged. "They weren't sorry for you."

Alex growled, "You are on my last nerve!"

Zach stepped between him and Lindsay. "Don't go picking fights that you're bound to lose."

"I could just set him straight now, Zach," Lindsay offered, "His arrogance really irritates me."

"No," Zach growled, "Lindsay, go help set up for the power testing tonight. Alex, stay here and watch over things. Got it? No fighting."

"Fine," Alex scoffed, "I'm not supposed to hurt girls anyway."

"No problem, Zach." Lindsay shrugged. "My patience would snap, and he would get hurt. What kind of instructor would that make me?"

Zach had to hold Alex back as Lindsay raced away towards the manor.

* * *

**Truth is... I really hate reviews. LOLJK I live on them! Do it.**

**Correction: Thank you to ShadowWolf for pointing out the mix up between the twins' Yin and Yang stones. They have been switched. Erin has the Yang and Cinder has the Yin.**


	9. A Test of Skill

"Lorren! Marlin!" Gabby shouted as she ran to hug the two oddly colored men.

Marlin grabbed her first and swung her around before handing her off to Lorren. "Are you teaching here too?" Gabby asked as she let go of Lorren.

"We won't be teaching," Lorren explained, "But we will probably help out."

"After all," Marlin reasoned, "We have kingdoms to look after."

Gabby nodded. "Of course, I was just hoping to see you around more."

"We'll be around," Marlin reassured her, "We aren't fully in charge just yet. Now, come on. We should be helping run booths."

The entrance hall of the manor was lined with folding tables. Each had a sign that indicated what the stand was assessing; be it an element test, healing test, combat test, or magic enhancement test. At each table, there was a long line of students. Tasha stood at one booth labeled "Background Analysis" and waved Gabby and her companions over.

"I see you're expanding on your Fairy Finder concept," Gabby remarked, observing Tasha's sign.

Tasha smiled, fiddling with her devices and scanning a new student. "Welcome back! And yes, I have. It now includes any trace of goblin, merperson, fairy, troll, or dwarf."

"How many have you gotten of each this year?" Lorren asked.

Tasha shook her head at the boy she had been scanning, indicated he had no traces of anything other than human. "So far and including returning students, we have ten with a decent amount of fairy in them, five with miniscule amounts of merperson, a lost count of the number traced with dwarf, and only three with small amounts of troll in them."

"Wow and there's still more to scan," Marlin said, "This should be interesting."

There was a sudden crash and a snarl by the combat assessment stand. Tasha didn't seem fazed by it, far too into her work, but Lorren, Gabby, and Marlin looked at each other with unease. With a terrible feeling in her stomach, Gabby craned her neck to see what was going on over there. All she could see were students backing away from the area.

"Um, Tasha?" Gabby tapped the girl's shoulder nervously. "Have you seen Lindsay?"

Tasha looked up from her work for a moment with a questioning look on her face. "I think Zach asked her to run the combat stand. Why?"

"Oh no," Gabby muttered, "No reason, just wondering."

Exchanging another worried look with Lorren and Marlin, Gabby took off towards the combat stand with Lorren trailing behind her; Marlin stayed with Tasha, concern written on his face. They weaved through the crowd of students, apologizing here and there for shoving one. The students at the combat station had looks of stunned relief at the sight of Lorren. Gabby assumed it was the fact that an adult would be able to fix whatever had happened and that this adult was green.

Behind the folding table, two teenagers were screaming in each other's faces. The boy towered over the girl, and his dirty blond hair covered his face. The girl looked up at him with hostility, raging fire alight in her black rimmed brown eyes. They each threw profanities at each other and argued that they belonged there.

Gabby cleared her throat from across the table and demanded, "What's going on here?"

"Zach told me to run this stand," Lindsay explained, "But Mr. Know-It-All here claims that Zach told him to run it!"

"Hey!" Alex objected, "He specifically told me to handle it! It makes sense, you know, considering I'm his top student."

Lindsay started yelling at him about being an arrogant fool. He argued back saying she was no better than him.

"Look," Lorren interrupted, "Nothing is getting done here. Zach probably got caught up in how hectic the day has been and assigned both of you on accident. How about I take care of it, okay? That way there's no more arguing."

"Yes," Gabby agreed, "That's a great idea. Now, move it or lose it, you two."

Glaring at each other, Lindsay and Alex walked away from the table and let Lorren take over. Lorren sighed in relief and welcomed the next person in line, who looked like she just walked away from a war zone. Figuring it wasn't a good idea keep the two enemies in a crowd where someone could get hurt, Gabby led her peers outside. The whole time neither one would let up the intense glowering contest they had going on.

Once outside, Lindsay got fed up. "You know what?" she burst out at Alex, "I challenge you to a race! If the reason you're so inconceivably arrogant is because your griffon is fast, then I'll cream you and get rid of that obnoxious smirk you always have on your face."

"You're on," Alex accepted, "We'll start from the Portal Field, then follow Wolf Run Pass and the Mist Trail to the Manor. Then, we'll loop past the Topiary Gardens back to the Portal Field. Got it?"

"Prepare to lose!" Lindsay taunted and took off towards the Portal Field.

Alex raced her, and Gabby sighed as she followed, knowing she would have to be there to judge. There was just a sinking feeling in her stomach that she had read how this would end.

* * *

"On three!" Gabby shouted, making Scream squawk, "One, two, three!"

The riders and their griffons took off into the night sky, neck in neck as they began. Scream was much bigger and stronger than Silence, and Alex rode him with confidence. Lindsay sat cross-legged on Silence's back, leaning over with a loose grip on his feathery mane. Even with the difference in size and power, Silence kept pace with agility and experience.

Observing the way Lindsay was mounted, Alex exclaimed, "Are you trying to get yourself killed? You'll fall riding like that!"

Lindsay glared at him in response. "Only if someone says I will. Don't tell me how to ride. I probably have years of experience on you!"

With that, she patted Silence to go faster. Silence used one powerful beat of his wings to take the lead. The racers took the first bank at the Mist Trail towards the manor. Alex eyed Lindsay's balance nervously but disregarded it in order to focus on catching up. The manor was in sight, and Scream pounded his wings to meet Silence once again and squawked in victory. Silence tensed at Scream's noise but made no sound in response.

Speeding past the manor and approaching the Topiary Gardens, they made another sharper turn. Scream slowed down to keep Alex well balanced as they neared the bend. Noticing their opponent slowing down, Lindsay smirked as Silence took the turn at full speed. However, the smirk was quickly replaced by a look of terror on Lindsay's face as she felt herself torn from Silence's back by the momentum of the turn.

Scrambling desperately for Silence, she plummeted into the trees. The forest tore her up as she hit branch after branch, until she finally managed to grab one and stop her fall. Scream screeched as Alex whipped him around to go after his opponent, and Silence followed mournfully. Lindsay clung to the branches for her life, terrified to finish the fall. Scream lowered himself into the trees until he was low enough for Lindsay to grab his claw. Carefully avoiding trees, Scream lifted Lindsay over the last bit of forest and set her down next to an elephant shaped bush in the Topiary Gardens.

Lindsay clutched her bleeding side, and Alex slid off of Scream's back to help her. She was covered in bruises and cuts, but a sharp branch had stabbed her in the side when she had first hit the trees. Alex told her to lie down so he could heal her wounds.

Furiously shaking her head, Lindsay breathed, "No, go get Gabby or Emily."

"I'm a healer too, Lindsay," Alex explained, "I can just do it."

"No," Lindsay growled through the haze in her head, "You don't understand. You can't do. It has to be Gabby or Emily. The manor is close, so go get Emily. She should be at the healing test station."

"I'm not leaving you here, especially when I can help you, "Alex objected, putting his hand on her shoulder.

"You don't know how to heal me," Lindsay snapped, "Now, get your hand off me; I know what you're doing. I know what your powers are, and you won't be putting me to sleep anytime soon. You're wasting time and might end up making matters worse. Go get Emily."

Alex took his hand off her shoulder. "I'm still not going to leave you. And what do you mean I don't know how to heal? Emily is the one who trained me!"

"For the love of all that is holy!" Lindsay exclaimed, making her body ache worse, "Would you get over yourself and go get one of them? In case you hadn't noticed, I'm not in very good shape right now!"

Alex grumbled and turned to Scream, who was observing quietly for a change. "Go find Gabby and bring her here, okay? She's the girl who sent us off in the Portal Field."

Scream squawked and took off. Silence rested his head next to Lindsay.

"Why don't you go get Emily?" Lindsay protested, "She's closer."

Alex shook his head stubbornly. "Scream can't go in the manor. And I'll never leave a wounded person."

Lindsay didn't respond.

"Hey, if you're so scared, why don't you just let me heal you?" Alex asked.

Lindsay glared at him, wiping a bloody hand on her pants. "You may be able to see my emotions, but you certainly don't understand them. I'm not afraid of my wounds. I'm afraid of what might happen when someone heals them."

"What are you talking about? What could happen?"

Lindsay sighed, "You wouldn't understand."

"I can try."

"No, I'll never allow that."

"Why not?"

"Why should I?"

Alex deliberated for a moment. "It's not good to coop feelings up, especially in front of someone who can see them. It's infuriating."

"It's bad enough you can see my emotions," Lindsay snapped, "You don't need to know all about them. As far as I'm concerned, we aren't even friends!"

Alex struggled feebly for a response as Scream landed beside them. "I'll figure you out eventually," he vowed.

Gabby slid off of Scream's back and knelt at Lindsay's side. "He said you'd fall," she concluded.

Lindsay rolled her eyes and nodded.

Alex gaped at her. "How did you know that?"

"She's cursed like that," Gabby laughed, "If you warn her about something, it will happen. If you don't say anything, it won't happen. That used to happen with spilling things all the time."

"Yeah, sure," Alex scoffed, "Like she wouldn't have fallen riding cross-legged anyway!"

Lindsay glared at him. "No, I wouldn't have. I'd never fallen until now."

"You ride like Zach," Gabby realized, smirking.

Lindsay shrugged. "Just heal me and let's get this over with."

Nodding, Gabby told her to lie down on the grass. Lindsay pulled her shirt up halfway to reveal the long gash in her side. Putting her one hand just below Lindsay's chest and the other over the biggest wound, Gabby closed her eyes to focus on the healing. Alex watched in stunned amazement as a black circle of light illuminated through the hand Gabby had just below Lindsay's chest. As the side gash closed, so did the smaller cuts and bruises. Lindsay would twitch occasionally, and Gabby would shove her hand harder onto the light, like she was jolting the life back into her.

"What was that?" Alex demanded as Lindsay stretched and sat up.

Gabby deliberated between Lindsay and Alex. "Lindsay," she murmured, "He's not going to let that go."

Lindsay stared blankly at her friend. "I know, but he's not finding out now. I'm already off balance and I don't want anyone hurt."

"What was that light?" Alex insisted, "Why wasn't I allowed to heal you?"

Lindsay stood and faced him with the same empty gaze. "You said you'd figure me out eventually. I'd like to see you try."

With that, Lindsay hopped onto Silence's back and took off into the night. Gabby watched her friend go a bit mournfully, and Alex grumbled with frustration. In an effort to avoid questioning, Gabby made to walk back to the manor rather than ride with Alex to the Portal Field. Alex caught her first though.

"Don't think you can go off without explaining," Alex growled in a rage.

Gabby stopped and sighed. "It's Lindsay's business to tell you."

"You don't have to tell me everything," Alex persisted, "Just tell me what that light was and why I can't heal her. Oh and why her emotions look like a tornado."

"That light is one of Lindsay's skills," Gabby gave in a little, "It centers her magic. You can't heal her because her magic is always in limbo, and the smallest disturbance of another person's magic will throw the balance off. As for her emotions, Ravenswood brings back some dark memories for her."

"Is that why she's scared?" Alex asked, "I've never heard of someone's magic being off balance. She said she's afraid of what could happen when someone heals her. What happens? And what dark memories does Ravenswood hold?"

Gabby shook her head. "Alex, I told you this is Lindsay's business. The only thing I can tell you is that something happened here that messed her up. And horrible things can happen if that balance is upset. Now, I'm going to find Emily to tell her what happened."

"Fine," Alex snapped, "I'm taking Scream back to the Portal Field. And I will find out what's wrong with her."

Gabby smiled at him despite his tone. "Good, that's exactly what I want to hear."

* * *

Emily was talking to a red headed little girl, when Gabby found her. The girl held hands with who had to be her older brother. Both had similar heart shaped faces and red hair, but the boy, who looked about Gabby's age, had grey eyes while the girl had blue.

"Oh, Gabby," Emily greeted her, "This is Anna, a returning student, and her older brother Keller, who is new. Anna will be one of your students."

Gabby smiled at the little girl. "Nice to meet you, I'm Gabby."

"I'm so excited!" Anna squeaked, "Emily and Zach said you are really nice! But they said Lindsay can be intimidating."

Emily gave a sheepish smile. "Guilty, but it was worth warning her."

"Lindsay can be intimidating but she has a good heart," Gabby explained to Anna, "Did you have Zach as a teacher?"

The boy, Keller, rolled his eyes and laughed. "She rides a dragon named Canna. Zach was her riding coach."

"Wow, a dragon riding healer?" Gabby grinned, "And have you found out what you are, Keller?"

Keller had a modest smile. "I'm a Blazing Star."

"A boy Blazing Star," Emily said with a smirk, "Kara will be thrilled. Anyway, did you need something, Gabby?"

"Oh," Gabby remembered why she had sought Emily out, "Keep an eye on Lindsay when you see her. There was an incident."

Emily nodded, becoming all business. "No one was hurt? Did she lose control?"

"Nothing happened," Gabby assured her mentor, "She's just a little edgy now."

"Is something wrong?" Keller asked suspiciously.

"It's nothing," Gabby explained, "There was just a disagreement between Lindsay and another student and she got hurt in a griffon race."

But then Gabby heard gasps from those around her and turned her attention at the odd horse making its way towards her.

* * *

**Spell it with me! R. E. V. I. E. W! What's that spell? Review! That's what you should do!**


	10. Normalcy Was Never an Option

Gabby smiled as she recognized her dear friend trotting into the manor. The watery mare searched through the crowd until Gabby caught her eye and waved her over. Emily and the two students stared with astonishment as Amity came to stand next to Gabby, head hovering above her rider's.

_You said you'd introduce me to your masters,_ Amity neighed.

"Of course," Gabby agreed, patting Amity's neck, "But I thought it would be a better idea to introduce you outdoors, rather than have you make an entrance like that. Anyway, this is Emily, whom I told you about, and this is my new student, Anna, and her brother, Keller. Guys, this is Amity."

Emily smiled, breaking her shocked expression. "Nice to meet you. You remind me of Starfire, Kara's Paladin."

_That would make sense, _Amity agreed; _we are similar yet very different. I am made of water elemental magic, while Starfire is made of fire._

"By the way," Emily realized, "How could Cooper and Mystic become paladins if they aren't elemental magic?"

Gabby shrugged. "I don't know, but it happened. I assumed Cooper was made purely of imagination from what happened, so maybe that's how Mystic is too."

"Isn't anything made conjured from imagination considered a pure element?" Anna asked, "That's what Tweek taught us."

"Well, Tweek is probably right," Gabby figured, "Otherwise they wouldn't be our paladins. Plus, Tweek has a knack for that stuff."

The group was once again interrupted by a squeaking and shouting. "Hey, look out! Watch where you're stepping! Move it, ferret coming through!"

A huge smile grew on Anna's face when the little furry creature broke through the crowd to stand with them. Gabby looked down and shared her joy. Meanwhile, Keller looked down in confusion, and Emily wasn't fazed whatsoever. Amity leaned down to sniff the ferret next to her.

Ozzie's eyes bugged out. "Gah!"

_You are a talking rat?_ Amity asked with sincerity.

Ozzie glowered at her. "Actually, I'm an elf turned into a ferret. And what are you? A walking kiddy pool?"

"Ozzie," Anna said, "This is Amity and Gabby. Oh, and my brother Keller."

Ozzie smirked up at the little girl. "No need to introduce me to this one," he laughed, gesturing to Gabby, "I definitely know her."

"Well," Gabby said with a smile, "If you're looking for your pudding, Lindsay probably has some."

Ozzie chuckled, "I'll be sure to ask her. Did I mention it's good to have you back?"

"Nope," Gabby pointed out, "But I assume you missed me."

"Wait," Anna interrupted, "How do you already know each other?"

"Anna, Gabby was my first apprentice," Emily explained, "Of course she knows Ozzie."

Anna nodded with a thoughtful look on her face. Still, Keller looked on with confusion.

"Anyway," Ozzie said, "Adriane asked me to show you and Lindsay where you'd be staying."

"I'm not sure where Lindsay is," Gabby admitted, "She might just be flying around the forest. In which case, I won't be able to call her."

"One of us could help you," Keller offered.

Gabby nodded. "That would be great. I'll warn you though; she won't be in a good mood."

"That's fine," Anna said, "And Canna would be able to take us all up, so let's take her instead of Celic, Keller."

"Celic?" Emily repeated.

"He's my bonded," Keller explained, "a Pegasus."

_A Pegasus wouldn't be able to take three people into the air. _ Amity pointed out.

"That's why we're taking Canna," Anna agreed, "She's really big!"

* * *

Gabby gaped up at Canna; she was big, big as a house and red. "I thought red dragons were only born every one thousand years?"

_Red crystal dragons are, _Canna explained, huge brown eyes holding a friendly gaze; _I'm not a red crystal dragon. I'm merely a red dragon conjured from Anna's imagination._

_It's like how I was created, _Amity elaborated, _Elemental stallions are only supposed to be created by fairy wizards, but you made me from your mind._

"Oh," Gabby said, still dumbfound that such a little girl could think of such a large beast.

Ozzie, Keller, Anna, and Gabby climbed onto Canna's back, while Amity and Emily stood back. Gabby looked up into the night sky, but Lindsay was nowhere to be seen. If she was up there, Silence rendered them invisible. Canna took off and rose as high as possible. Eyes widening, Gabby looked down on the forest and wished she hadn't; heights had never been her favorite.

Still, no one was visible in the night sky. Only in the silence of the darkness did they hear the humming. Gabby recognized it immediately. It was the little tune that she and Lindsay had made up in third grade to remember all they learned in Ravenswood. The last time she had heard it was the day before Lindsay had moved.

"_I've got the power in my hands. I've got the power."_ The song continued, and then lapsed back into a wordless tune.

The others looked around in confusion, trying to make sense of the strange song. Gabby gestured in the direction the sound was coming from, and Canna followed it. The song repeated time and time again, and Gabby was reluctant to interrupt it. Finally, after searching through the darkness in vain, a glowing circle was visible. Gabby could see Lindsay sitting cross-legged atop Silence in meditation, eyes closed and light fading in and out to the tune she hummed.

"Lindsay!" Gabby called, snapping the girl out of her focus.

Lindsay's eyes flashed open, and the glowing circle flickered and went out. "What? I was thinking."

Ozzie stood in Gabby's lap. "You better have my pudding! And Adriane asked me to show you your room."

Lindsay smiled at the ferret. "Of course; I put it in the manor fridge earlier because I couldn't find you. And alright, I'll meet you down there."

Canna landed in front of Amity and Emily first. As Gabby and the others slid off of Canna's back, Silence landed. Lindsay looked around once she touched ground and realized she didn't know half of those standing with her.

"Um, who are you people?" Lindsay asked in confusion, "And horse and dragon?

"These are two of your new students," Emily explained, gesturing to Anna and Keller.

Lindsay shifted uncomfortably. "Alright, nice to meet you, I suppose. Who's the rider?"

"Nice to meet you too," Keller replied sincerely, "This is Canna. My sister rides her."

Anna just stared at Lindsay in terror.

"Hey, kid," Lindsay growled, "You're freaking me out. Stop looking at me like that."

Anna's eyes grew. "Sorry!"

_Anna, she won't bite, _Canna reasoned with her rider, _She's your teacher._

Still, Anna stood with rigid posture, fear written in every part of her expression.

With a sigh, Lindsay moved on. "And who are you?" she asked Amity.

_I am Gabby's friend, just like you, _Amity answered. _My name is Amity._

"Huh, a water element mare?" Lindsay observed critically, "Interesting. By the way, Gabby, I never properly introduced you to Silence. So, Silence," she gestured to the griffon, "Gabby," she gestured back to Gabby.

"Hello," Gabby greeted him, "It seems you really are silent."

Silence nodded.

"Well, if everyone is done with their meet and greet," Ozzie interrupted, "can we move on?"

"Alright, Mr. Impatient," Lindsay sighed, grabbing her luggage from the bags strapped to Silence, "And you don't have me fooled, I know you just want your pudding."

* * *

The room was on the second floor of the manor, the first on the left. Lindsay and Gabby recognized it immediately and smiled at each other. It was the room they spent their nights in Ravenswood back in third grade. There was the bathroom door that Gabby had smacked her head into the first morning. There was the window they had flown paper airplanes out of to see whose went farther. There were the bunk beds that Gran bought for Lindsay and Gabby so they didn't all have to sleep on the floor. Lindsay poked her head out the window and smiled. There were the hand holds that she used to climb to the roof.

"This is great, Ozzie," Gabby sighed with content, "It brings back so many memories."

Ozzie beamed his ferrety smile. "We all thought so."

* * *

"You're a lot heavier now than you were then," Lindsay whispered into her backpack as she set it down on the roof.

Thunder unwound himself from the bag that was far too small for him to fit in. _It was a lot more comfortable then too._

"I'll be right back."

Lindsay lowered herself from the roof to the window with the foot and hand holds on the side of the manor. Quietly sneaking past Gabby, she put her blanket and pillow in her backpack. A moment later, she was back on the roof with Thunder. She situated herself so she was a safe distance from the edge and curled up with Thunder to gaze at the stars. It wasn't long until she found herself humming that nostalgic tune.

"_I've got the power in my hands. I've got the power."_

Swept up within her own thoughts in no time, she recollected the lyrics' first use. She and Gabby had been very interested in Pokémon around the time they came back from Ravenswood. One day, Lindsay had gotten on the bus home and sat down next to Gabby humming the tune they had created. The only difference was that after the short humming was over, she continued on with lyrics Lindsay had never heard and held up three cards: Articuno, Zapados, and Maltres. Lindsay smiled to herself and kept humming, letting the memories rush through her in a homesick current.

She was nearly asleep when the sounds of footsteps made Thunder pop his head up. Interrupting her humming, a familiar and irritating voiced asked, "What's that song?"

Annoyed at having been pulled from sleep to answer personal questions, Lindsay snapped, "It's none of your business. Who's there?"

Just as she had thought, Alex's face appeared from the shadows. Anger laced his expression as he replied, "It's just me. And it's my business when you're lying in my spot. Jeez, you're so defensive."

Lindsay sat up, a fire starting her eyes. This was her spot, not his. "Excuse me, but who was here first? This has been my spot for six years. I beat you by a long shot."

"You didn't seem to have it claimed last year," Alex growled, towering over her, "There's no mark."

Smirking, Lindsay pointed to a roof shingle with an etching on it not two feet away from her. "LTC," she read the etching, "That's Lindsay, Thunder, Cooper."

Alex's mouth hung slightly, deliberating over this new discovery. "That's yours?" he finally said, "I used to make up all kinds of things that could mean. Once, I thought it might have meant 'Love To Cook' or 'Look, Two Cats'."

Lindsay actually laughed, though slightly offended. "You're really weird. You hadn't even considered that it could be initials?"

"Hey, you're the weird one here, Ms. Mysterious Past," Alex protested with a smirk, "Maybe I thought it was more fun to dream up things than stick with the probable."

Small smile fading, Lindsay's eyes glazed over and Thunder nudged her with concerned. "I'm glad you had fun with this spot while I was gone, but please don't call me that."

"Sorry, but it's true," Alex pointed out, shrugging; "I swear every little thing in Ravenswood relates to you in some dark way, and you won't say anything about it."

Lindsay stared up at him blankly. "Why should I tell you anything about me when I just met you?"

"I'm not asking you to pour out your soul to me," Alex explained, sitting next to her, "I just want some answers. Like, why isn't anyone allowed to heal you other than Gabby and Emily? And, what was the light on your stomach? Or, what was the song you were humming? They aren't that personal of questions. Plus, Gabby sort of explained the first two, but I still don't understand. She said it's not up to her to tell me."

At the news about Gabby, Lindsay sat shock still. "What did she tell you?" she asked slowly.

"Don't be mad at her," Alex pleaded, "She didn't really tell me much. All I know is that your magic is always in limbo, and if we heal you, it could upset the balance. And the light is one your abilities. I don't really understand though. Why is your magic so off balance? I've never heard of that before. I've also never heard of anyone being able to center their magic in one point."

Silence took over for a while. Lindsay stared off into the distance, thoughts and memories wreaking havoc on her head. Alex's gaze was fixed on her, waiting for answers.

Thunder, after sitting quietly with discomfort through the whole conversation, finally spoke. _You should probably leave, Alex._

Alex glared at him and shook his head. To both the boys' surprise, Lindsay shook her head as well.

"It's alright, Thunder," she assured her wolf friend, "I was just thinking of how much to tell him."

_And what have you decided?_

"Obviously, not the whole story," she said, "But I understand some explanation is needed."

Alex let out a sigh of relief. "Thank you."

"I'll start with the light, because it's the reason you can't heal me," Lindsay began, "When I came to Ravenswood for the first time, a lot of terrible decisions led to me acquiring the power to center all of magic in me to one circle a little below my sternum. This also lets me draw magic from outside sources to that circle, so long as I'm touching them. My circle used to be gold, but because of yet another terrible decision, it's now black."

She paused, painful memories making her wince. Thunder put his head in her lap and closed his eyes, willing his bond to forgive herself. He had already forgiven her long ago.

Taking a deep breath, she continued, "That is why my magic is unbalanced and why you can't heal me. Any sort of disturbance in my magic could make me lose control, and losing control is something I never want to do again."

"What happens when you lose control?" Alex asked.

Lindsay shook her head. "No, that's the only explanation you're getting."

"Wait, what about the song?" he persisted, "What was the song you were humming?"

Lindsay smirked. "That has next to nothing to do with what we're talking about. It's just a song Gabby and I made up when we first came here."

* * *

Gabby woke to someone humming her song. When she noticed it came from the roof and that Lindsay's bed was empty once again, she sighed sadly. But then she noticed another voice mixed with Lindsay's and sat bolt upright.

"No way," she whispered to herself, "Getting along already?"

She smirked and rolled over again, letting Alex and Lindsay's song lull her back to sleep.

* * *

**Don't you get tired of my annoying remarks after every chapter? Too bad. You still have to review.**


	11. Morning People

_Lindsay, wake up! You have classes to teach!_ Thunder nudged his bonded. _And I can't get down from here without you!_

Lindsay sleepily pushed him away. "Later, later."

"You're still the only person I have ever known to sleep in broad daylight, you know that?"

Startled by the new voice, Lindsay sat up to find Adriane smiling down at her. "It's a talent of mine."

Adriane laughed. "You're going to miss breakfast if you don't hurry. Some of the campers are great cooks; you should try some of the stuff they whipped up."

Lindsay just stared at her blankly.

"Or you could have cereal," Adriane added with a smirk.

* * *

Breakfast was hectic. Kids of all ages ran back and forth from the kitchen to the dining area, and Lindsay wasn't a fan of the crowd. After pouring herself a bowl of cereal, she found Gabby eating breakfast with a bunch of other kids. Each of them paid close attention to her; some seemed to be hanging on every word. Gabby spotted Lindsay, smiled and waved her over.

As Lindsay sat down, Gabby said, "I had them save that seat for you. Anyway, meet my class, Lindsay. Well, some of them."

The other kids stared at her in wonder. Most were girls, but a few were guys. The oldest looked about Lindsay and Gabby's age, and the youngest had to be no older than nine.

Lindsay shifted uncomfortably in her seat. "Nice to meet you."

"They're all returning campers," Gabby explained with pride, "Emily asked me to teach more complex healing methods. Things like controlling balances and healing the imagined element."

A few students squealed with excitement.

"You're teaching them to control balances?" Lindsay repeated warily as her whole body stiffened, "Is that such a good idea?"

"Don't worry about it," Gabby assured her, "It's only balancing, not manipulating. And that's only if the class gets to it. It is one of the most complex techniques."

"We can do it!" one girl exclaimed, an older one with black hair and blue eyes, "We'll prove how good we are!"

Lindsay glared at her and snapped, "That isn't something you need to learn."

"Jenna," a little red haired girl that Lindsay recognized, Anna, whispered to shocked older girl, "I told you she's scary. Don't make her mad."

Gabby sighed, "Don't scare my students, Lindsay. I won't teach them it if it bothers you that much."

"Thank you," Lindsay grumbled, "You know that makes me uneasy."

"Anyways," Gabby said, happily changing the topic, "What classes are you teaching? I'm helping Emily with another healing class after the more advanced one. After lunch, I have a beginning fighting class. Apparently the whole camp has free time after that."

"Yeah, that's what I heard. I'm teaching a beginning flight class first and then an advanced one," Lindsay explained, "Zach insisted on a combat class after lunch too."

Before anyone could comment, a huge falcon landed next to Lindsay's nearly empty cereal bowl. A few girls yelped, but Lindsay just stared in horror as it finished off her cereal. When it was done, it stared at her with steady yellow eyes and ruffled its brown and white feathers. Furious, Lindsay reached out and grabbed its neck.

Ignoring the bird attempting to tear apart her hand, Lindsay stood and growled, "Whose bird is this?"

The room fell silent besides the bird's struggling until a boy behind Lindsay spoke. "If you break Mercury's neck, I won't forgive you."

Lindsay whipped around, fire burning in her eyes. The boy seemed a year or two older than her and was much taller. He smirked, running a hand through his choppy black hair.

Releasing Mercury's neck and letting it retreat to the boy's arm, Lindsay was seething. "And who do you think you are?" she snapped.

"Gavin, a friend of Alex. But don't mind me. I was just observing."

Suddenly, Lindsay covered her ears and sat down, trying to ignore everyone's gazes burning into her as she took in one shallow breath after another.

Gabby glared at Gavin, who simply looked intrigued, and put her hand on Lindsay's shoulder. "It's just cereal and an irritating boy," Gabby whispered into her ear, "I'm sorry I already had you upset. Take a deep breath and walk away from it."

"I know, sorry. It's just too early," Lindsay muttered and bolted out of the room.

* * *

_So do you think she's alright?_ Carmel asked Gabby on the way to the first class.

Gabby nodded. "She'll be fine. Like she said, it was just too early. Plus, she was already on edge."

_Is she always this way?_ Amity inquired with concern. _Is something wrong with her?_

"I'll explain it to you later," Gabby whispered as she came around the corner of the manor and faced her first class.

They were all gathered in back of the manor, forming separate clusters of friends. It was a smaller sized class, since it was more advanced, and the gender ratio was surprisingly even. Most were relatively close to her age, with the exception of Anna and her friends.

Gabby called the class to attention and instructed them to sit in a large circle. "For those I haven't met yet, my name is Gabby. I'll be teaching this class, so if any issue comes up, please tell me. As we go around the circle, please say your name and age. Oh, and introduce your bonded."

She surveyed the circle of students to make sure they were listening. "Alright, I'll start. Hello, my name is Gabby Rede and I'm fifteen. Amity is a water elemental horse, and Caramel is a mistwolf."

"I'm Eric Martinson, and I'm thirteen. I don't have a bonded animal."

"Hey, I'm Rani Patel," one of the girls who had sat with Gabby at breakfast introduced herself, "I'm sixteen. My partner is Raj, a flying white tiger."

"I'm Riley McGregor, and I'm fourteen. This is Isis, a Miniature Ice Dragon. Miniature Dragon," the girl repeated to make her point, "Not a D-fly."

The laughing boy next to Riley Gabby recognized before he introduced himself. "Alright, my name is Alexander Mono. Call me Alex. I'm sixteen. This is Scream, a griffon."

"I'm Trevor Grant, and I'm fifteen," Alex's other friend said, "My friend here is Ripley, a Spirit Bird."

"Hi everyone! I'm Emily Whitman. I'm ten. This is Maggie. She's a fox but still magic."

"Hi, I'm Anna Elkman. I'm eight. This is Canna. She's a dragon."

As the rest of the class introduced themselves, Gabby realized that teaching this class was going to prove a challenge. Since most of the kids were her age, they weren't likely to listen to her. Not only that, but many of them had rivals within the class.

"Hello everyone, I'm Jenna Tolland, and I'm fourteen," the last introduced herself. Gabby recognized her as the girl that Lindsay snapped at during breakfast. "I may not have a bond but I'll work together with everyone so that we can all reach our full potential," then to Gabby she said, "I just can't wait to learn from you!"

Gabby smiled at her, encouraged by her enthusiasm. Unfortunately, those who knew Jenna saw her excitement another way.

"Jenna, shut up," Alex moaned, "No one likes a suck up."

Jenna looked stunned. "Suck up?" she repeated innocently, "What are you talking about? I'm just excited."

Alex rolled his eyes. "Your anger is showing."

A few of the class snickered. Gabby was confused for a moment before remembering that Zach had told her Alex was able to see emotions.

"Ah, now you're embarrassed," Alex continued with a smirk, "Oh no, here comes the anger again. Embarrassment and anger? Ah, that's not a good sign."

By now, you didn't have to have Alex's abilities to see Jenna's emotions as she was taunted and laughed at. Her face was beet red, and her hands were tightened into fists.

"Alright, cut it out," Gabby interrupted, "Whether she was sucking up or not, you don't need to harass her."

After a few moans from the rest of the class, Alex sighed and suddenly grinned like an idiot, "Whatever. Just be careful who you suck up to, Jenna."

Ignoring Alex's strange comment, Gabby started the lesson with reviewing what Emily had taught them in their basic class.

* * *

Lindsay was having an absolutely miserable start to her day. First, she nearly had an episode at breakfast. Second, she was late to her first flying class, and a bunch of kids had decided to fly around on their own. Since none had very much experience, in the mere minutes that Lindsay was late, three kids managed to fall and get hurt. Third, while escorting the three injured idiots to a healing class on Silence and leaving Thunder in charge, she ran into Cinder and Erin, who thought that it would be hilarious to make her students think they were falling out of midair. Fourth, after threatening the twins with bodily harm and finding Gabby's healing class, she had to watch as Alex and that annoying girl from breakfast, Jenna, healed them. When the first class was finally over, Lindsay sighed with relief, hoping the rest of her day would turn out better than the morning.

Splashing her face with the cool water, Lindsay knelt by Owl Creek while she waited for her next class to come. It would likely take a few minutes for them to get there since Owl Creek was in the back of the preserve.

She had just managed to muster an optimistic attitude when she heard Thunder moan behind her, _Oh no._

Turning to see what peril Thunder had discovered, Lindsay found her day would not be going as smoothly as she had hoped. Among the first few to arrive in the clearing was Alex. She made a mental note to yell at Zach for this.

_Don't go off on anyone, _Thunder warned, _He hasn't done anything yet._

"Yet," Lindsay growled.

Silence spit for emphasis.

Lindsay smiled and stroked his beak. "That's right, buddy. You always side with me."

Thunder rolled his eyes. _And this is why I'm forced to be the voice of reason._

"Yeah, right," Lindsay scoffed, "You're the voice of reason until food or she-wolves are involved. Then you turn into the voice of the excited puppy."

"Who's an excited puppy?" a familiar voice asked nervously, "I'd rather avoid being chewed."

Now, Lindsay was beaming as she faced the edge of the clearing to find a pile of twigs with quartz eyes looking around cautiously. Tweek made his way towards the class, plugging things into his HORARFF as he surveyed them. Unnoticed, Lindsay towered over him.

"Way to say hello, Twighead," Lindsay grumbled.

When Tweek swirled around and looked up, his quartz eyes spun. "O' me twig, it couldn't be! Inconceivable!"

"What," Lindsay laughed, "Did you forget that people grow even when you're not with them?"

"This is the little mage that tried to pull my quartz off!" Tweek exclaimed, recalling when they had first met, "Now she's teaching classes!"

Lindsay rubbed the back of her neck, embarrassed. Silence leaned over her shoulder, analyzing the talking mass of sticks. "Oh, yeah, this is Silence. Silence, this is Tweek. He is not a toy."

Tweek acknowledged the griffon warily. "I see why Alexander is in your class."

"Speaking of my class," Lindsay said, ignoring the very mention of Alex, "I should get going. See you around, Twighead."

The class was all there by now. With a groan, Lindsay called her students to attention and started introductions. Most of her class rode a griffon or dragon and were about her age. The oldest was a griffon rider named Elena; she was seventeen, nearly eighteen. On the other hand, the youngest was eight-year-old Anna with her dragon Canna. Besides Anna and Alex, Lindsay recognized Cinder and Erin with Dusk and Dawn.

"Alright," Lindsay said, climbing onto Silence's back after introductions, "Let's see what you guys can do. I'm going to circle the Preserve. The first one to catch me wins."

"What do we win?" Alex asked.

Lindsay thought for a moment. "My help in any prank on anyone," she decided after considering that there were kids like Erin and Cinder in her class, "Not that any of you will manage to catch me."

That got the class excited though. As her students mounted their bonds enthusiastically, Lindsay helped Thunder up with a glare from Silence and took off. The class tailed her as she soared through the tree tops, and she realized this would be harder than she thought with such huge dragons after her.

_Are you sure this a good idea? _Thunder asked wearily, _What if someone falls?_

"This is an advanced class, Thunder," Lindsay reminded him, shifting to lie on her stomach, "I don't think Zach would put them with me if they were in danger of falling. He knows how I am."

The competition was clear now as the slower kids fell behind and the more talented stayed on her tail. Lindsay looked to the side, spotting Alex on Scream edging closer. To the other side was Anna, wide eyed and intimidated by the thought of catching her teacher.

_That older girl and her griffon are directly behind us. I think those are the twins behind her._ Thunder warned.

"Awesome, come over here," Lindsay said, "Let's show them what skilled flying looks like."

Thunder groaned. _You know I hate this._

Still, he did what she asked and crawled under her so that she was caging him in against Silence. Dropping her legs to straddle the griffon, Lindsay grabbed the strap around Silence's neck and pulled up gently. Interpreting her signal, Silence shot straight up with the others following their tail. Then, he twirled sideways, causing Lindsay to grip the strap hard to keep Thunder in place, and plummeted towards the trees. At the last moment, he twisted again, and with one powerful beat of his wings, straightened himself out, letting his feet graze the top of a tree. Now, they were rocketing through the sky and the students were far above and behind.

Lindsay sat up, letting Thunder out from under her. She heard Scream screech in frustration as she looked back. Thunder let out a howl of triumph, and Silence spit, showing what he thought of those trying to catch him. Lindsay laughed at her companions' enthusiasm but knew the competition was only half over. She signaled Silence to gain altitude as she set up in her more comfortable position, legs crossed and facing backwards.

They were passing the Topiary Gardens when Alex caught up to them and cut them off. Silence shot higher, trying to get by him, but Scream kept pace with them, blocking their way. Annoyed, Lindsay urged Silence towards the other griffon, stood, and jumped off his head.

Landing next to a stunned Alex, she yelled to Silence, "Up!"

Alex reached to grab her as she ran across Screams back. "Up!" he ordered Scream in an effort to cut off Silence once again.

But Silence didn't go up; he went under Scream as the griffon followed Alex's command. Evading Alex's grasp, Lindsay jumped off Scream's back and onto Silence once again. They finished their lap, leaving the students in the dust. When they landed, Lindsay leaped off of Silence with a triumphant howl. Thunder jumped down and joined her, and Silence did a quirky little victory dance. The day might just turn out alright.

* * *

**What? I want you to review? Unheard of!  
**


	12. Importance

When lunch came, Gabby had to make a quick get away from Emily's healing class. Some of the students had been following her around the whole time, and she was now in desperate need of personal space. She hadn't figured that the campers would know so much about her and Lindsay.

Riding away on Amity, she went to find Lindsay. They had promised to meet at the tables set up behind the manor. Once she turned around the corner of the manor, she searched the crowd. Near the back corner of the yard, she saw Lindsay engaging in an excited conversation with a tall blonde girl decked out in armor. The two of them were standing next to the table, each stroking the beak of their griffon. In contrast to small, black Silence, the other girl's griffon was large, nearly twice Silence's size, with a brown body and white wings and head. Its pure white feathers were speckled with gold feathers. When Gabby and Amity trotted over, Lindsay stopped her conversation to introduce them.

"Oh, Elena," she said, "This is Gabby and Amity. Guys, this is Elena and her griffon Glimmer. They are in my advanced flying class."

Elena nodded very seriously at them as Gabby dismounted. "It's very nice to meet you. I've heard a lot about you and Lindsay's time here."

Both Gabby and Lindsay looked at her nervously. "Yeah, apparently we have celebrity status here," Gabby joked.

"Maybe that status can get us into the lunch line quicker," Lindsay laughed.

Elena smirked, and they headed to the manor for food, leaving the griffons to save their table. As Gabby opened the back door, she nearly slammed into Keller, Anna's brother. He stumbled backwards to avoid her, and Gabby steadied him before he slipped.

"Thanks," Keller sighed in relief, "Sorry about that."

"No problem," Gabby said, releasing her grip on him now that he was stable.

After a moment of awkward silence, Keller asked, "Do you mind if I sit with you guys? My sister ditched me for her friends."

"Sure!" Gabby agreed, "We are sitting all the way in the back corner. Look for the table with the griffons."

"Uh," Lindsay hesitated, "You might want to go with him, Gabby. Silence doesn't know him and might try to bite him. He knows you now, so he should behave if you go."

"True," Elena agreed, "You said Silence doesn't like strangers. We'll get you food though, Gabby. You go with him."

"Is that alright?" Keller asked nervously, "I don't want to cause any trouble."

Gabby smiled to reassure him. "That's fine. Come on, we'll go sit."

They made their way back to the table, dodging other campers chasing each other around the yard. Silence went to snap at Keller, but Gabby stopped him and assured him that Keller was okay to sit with them. When they sat down, there was an uncomfortable silence at first.

To chase away the awkwardness, Gabby asked, "So how do you like it here so far?"

Keller offered her a small smile. "It's really different. I've definitely not been to a camp like this. I like it though, even if I'm just getting used to how things work here."

"That's good. I'm glad you like it!" she said enthusiastically, "I'm getting used to being back after so many years, but it's been really great so far. What classes do you have?"

"Well, my bond is a Pegasus, Celic," he explained, "so my first class is Beginning Flying with Lindsay. She's really strict and a bit impatient, but it's hard to control that many people when everyone is falling. I like the class though."

"Yeah," Gabby laughed, "She came grumbling to my healing class with a few campers. She definitely was losing her patience with people. What else?"

He smiled sheepishly. "I said before I was a Blazing Star, so my second class was with Kara. I'm the only guy there. It's a bit awkward. My next class is Beginning Combat. I don't know who teaches that. I'm kind of nervous for it though. I'm not very good at that sort of thing."

"Beginning Combat?" Gabby repeated, and after he nodded, she continued genuinely excited, "I teach that class next! You're probably in my class! Don't worry about it though. You'll pick it up easily."

"I probably will, if you're teaching it," he laughed.

A bit embarrassed, Gabby asked, "And what makes you think I'm a good teacher?"

"You seem really patient," he told her, smiling kindly.

"Yeah, sure," Lindsay snickered, walking up to the table with two trays of food, "She seems patient until you can't keep up with her."

Gabby snatched her food from Lindsay and scowled at her. "Be quiet! I knock you down once when you weren't ready, and you never let it go!"

Elena sat down with Lindsay and asked, "Hey, where did Amity go?"

"She wanders a bit sometimes," Gabby said, shrugging, "I can usually find her by the nearest source of water," turning to Keller, she asked, "You're bond is Celic, right? Where is he?"

But Keller wasn't paying attention. His eyes were fixed on a boy about their age leaning against a nearby tree, sketching furiously in his notebook. The boy's ginger hair draped over his face as the hunched over in concentration. Next to him, a pure white mistwolf with stormy grey eyes leaned over his shoulder, critiquing the boy's work.

Everyone's eyes followed Keller as he got up and kneeled next to the boy. "Hey, why don't you come sit with us instead of sitting by yourself? Unless, you prefer to sit alone?"

At first, the boy didn't even look up from his work. The mistwolf nudged him, and when he looked up, he blinked in confusion and asked, "I'm sorry. Were you talking to me?"

"Yeah," Keller said and smiled invitingly, "Do you want to sit with us?"

The boy beamed. "Sure! 'Cmon, Finn," he said to the mistwolf.

The mistwolf, Finn, nodded patiently and walked over with him. When they sat down at the edge of the table, Lindsay had to brush Silence away. The boy fidgeted in the silence and pulled out a Carnelian worry stone, rubbing it energetically.

"So," Keller said, "We should do introductions. I'm Keller and this is Gabby, Elena, and Lindsay," he explained, pointing to them one by one.

"Hello, everyone, I'm Mitch," the boy said, smiling, "And this is Finn, my bonded."

"Nice to meet you," Gabby said, "That's a really cool worry stone."

Mitch lifted it to reflect in the light. "Yeah, but I don't rub it when I'm worried. I usually rub it to release energy when I'm not focusing on a task."

"Release energy?" Lindsay echoed, "You seem pretty mellow to me."

Finn scoffed, _So long as he has something to do. After too long without something to focus on, he becomes unmanageable._

"Well, that's why I draw," Mitch defended himself, glaring at Finn with his emerald eyes.

"What sort of thing do you draw?" Elena asked.

Mitch shrugged. "Whatever I'm thinking about."

Thunder ran up to them from out of the woods then, saying, "Hey, Lindsay! I'm going to join that wolf run they have after lunch. You won't need me, will you?"

"Nope, just a combat class," Lindsay assured him, "But are you going to run with me later?"

_Sure!_ Thunder agreed happily, _Can't run too many times a day!_

_Wolf run?_ Finn said, _That's what we're doing after this. Maybe we'll see each other._

Thunder eyed her with interest. _Cool, I'm Thunder. You are?_

_Finn and this is Mitch, my bonded._

_Well, see you then! I'm going to go find Caramel! I'll introduce you guys later_, Thunder blurted as he ran off into the woods.

"I think she's with Amity by the clearing!" Gabby called after him.

Lindsay smiled at Finn. "He was certainly excited to meet you."

_Really? I thought I scared him or something_, Finn said.

Mitch snickered and nudged Finn. "He likes you!"

At Finn's growl, everyone burst out laughing. Gabby took a look around the table at their laughing faces, knowing that they would only make more friends here. She couldn't shake the feeling of being home.

* * *

By the end of lunch, Lindsay was feeling much better. Ending her flight class with a victory, talking to Elena about the joy of flying, and sitting around with friends without anyone to set her off, she was much more stable than in the morning. Her last class was all the way back at Owl Creek again, so she rode Silence all the way to the Portal Field, left him there to relax and hang out, and ran the rest of the way.

Only a few students had beaten her there, though they still had a few minutes left to wait. Elena had left lunch a bit early so she could ride in clear skies with Glimmer before class and now lazed in the grass waiting. Lindsay sat next to her, waiting for the rest of the class to arrive. Elena took it upon herself to warn her of troublemakers. She explained that some kids were kiss-ups, which wasn't a big deal unless it irritated the other kids and started a fight, some kids were rule breakers, which was obviously a nuisance, and others were just plain annoying. Usually, these kids were known to stick out right at introductions, she mentioned. However, Lindsay's luck went downhill even before introductions; a familiar face sat down next to them in the grass.

"Hey, you're actually happy and enjoying a conversation," Alex said in awe, "You're emotions don't look like they want to eat someone."

Lindsay slowly turned her head to look at him. The fire in her glare was menacing as she growled, "What sick joke is it that I have you in two of my classes?"

"Oh, never mind, they want to eat me again," Alex laughed nervously, inching away from her, "I don't think it's a sick joke though. Maybe it's for the better!"

Elena pitched in, "This is a combat class, Alex. Maybe it is for the better."

Alex cringed. "The way you said that kind of freaks me out. Luckily, you'll have other people to worry about in this class. I heard you met them this morning."

Lindsay ignored him and called the class to attention. As they went around for introductions, she followed Elena's advice and watched for signs of troublemakers. Most of the kids were very laidback, nothing to worry about. Some were very serious, like Elena. Others were exactly what she had worried about.

"Hello, everyone! I know most of you from last year, but I'm Jenna!" One girl introduced herself enthusiastically and turned to Lindsay, "I can't wait to learn from one of Zach's first apprentices! I heard you're really good!"

Lindsay stared blankly at her for a moment as most of the other kids rolled their eyes. Then, she realized that Jenna was the irritating girl from breakfast, the one that sucked up to Gabby. She was the one that insisted on learning balancing. Completely unimpressed with the same trick, Lindsay continued her blank stare at Jenna, waiting for to realize she wasn't buying into her act.

Jenna shifted uncomfortably under her stare. "Are you as good as they say? If you trained with Zach, I bet you are."

"And Zach put up with you?" Lindsay asked, unmoved.

Jenna blushed as a bunch of the kids snickered, including Alex.

Lindsay sighed. "I really don't appreciate people sucking up. I really hate people who suck up and lie. Who here can honestly say they've heard positive rumors about me? Who hasn't heard I'm a psycho or just plain scary?"

No one raised their hand. Most of them looked away awkwardly.

"That's what I thought. Who's next?"

Introductions went smoothly, though a bit uncomfortably, after that. Not until they got near the last kid, did things go downhill again.

"Hey, I'm Gavin," the kid next to Alex said, "Nice to see you all again."

Lindsay had to do a double take before blurting, "You! You're the idiot with the bird! Mr. 'Just observing' who ruined my breakfast!"

He and Alex looked at each other and burst out laughing. Once they had recovered their breath, Gavin gasped, "That was a better reaction than we had hoped for!"

Clenching her fists and boiling with rage, Lindsay spit, "Is this some sort of game to you?"

"Pretty much!" Gavin laughed, "Don't freak out on me again though! Alex here asked me to make some observations, so I did."

Alex smacked him upside the head. "You weren't supposed to tell her that, idiot!"

Taking a deep breath and attempting to calm down, Lindsay growled, "That was your doing?"

"Possibly," Alex said, shrugging.

Ignoring him, Lindsay let the class finish introductions. She picked a few kids to run over to the portal field to pick up supplies with her and left Elena in charge. When they got back, they laid the weapons and armor out in the grass.

"Most of you have your own armor and such with you," she explained, "But for those of you, who are missing something, feel free to pick from this pile. You know the rules, I assume. None of this should be out unless in this class or practicing under supervision. The infirmary isn't a fun time."

"It's odd being lectured from someone our age," Alex pointed out.

"Even odder is waking up in a white room with a healer standing over you."

"How would you know?" Alex countered pointedly.

Lindsay glared at him. "I told you to stay out of my business."

Alex gave her an innocent smile. "What? What are you talking about?"

"You're a headache."

Everyone geared up. The students were required to wear helmets, though Lindsay hated wearing one. Luckily, being the teacher, she didn't have to wear one. She drew her two short swords, spinning around with them to readjust; it had been so long. The students followed her lead, testing out their long-neglected weapons.

Counting off, Lindsay paired everyone up and instructed them to practice dodging. Partner One was to try to hit Partner Two using whatever trick possible, and Partner Two was to dodge using whatever trick they had without attacking back. It was a simple drill that she and Gabby had often done. Most kids got the idea. They could use any trick they wanted, meaning any magic they possessed.

Everything was going fine until Lindsay saw that Jenna had paired up with Alex. Jenna was coming at Alex with everything she had, though he was easily avoiding her attacks. As Lindsay supervised, she noticed Jenna had a certain flame in her eye. She was taking this more seriously than a simple drill required. Alex was clearly uneasy with her ferocity. The last straw was Jenna's jab at Alex's neck. Her blade missed his throat by a neck.

Immediately, Lindsay stepped between them and kicked Jenna back, causing her to fall on her back. She stood over her with one sword at the girl's neck. Everyone stopped their drill in astonishment.

"Tell me what you did wrong," Lindsay demanded.

Jenna stared up at her with wide eyes. "I don't know."

"Sure you do," Lindsay insisted, "Think a little harder. Were you treating this like a drill? Did you see Alex as a comrade or an enemy?"

Jenna just gawked at her.

Lindsay sighed. "I didn't need Alex's power to see that you were directing your anger into your fight. That's fine, if you were sparing with a dummy. Unfortunately, you were directing that anger at a person, your comrade. No matter how you get along, these people are your comrades. Treat them like it. When you're in this class or practicing with a friend, leave your anger out of the fight."

* * *

**Finally, I got off my lazy butt and wrote some Story of Two! Review!**


	13. Observation

Beginning Combat went smoothly. Gabby taught the students basic steps, such as jabs and swipes, with various weapons. She would take her time building up their strength, since there were so many younger kids in her class. Most were under twelve, though a few were her age. Those that were older were new to camp, but the younger ones were students who didn't qualify for the next level yet.

After class, Gabby walked with Keller to the library. There, they bumped into Ozzie, who gave them the run down on the rest of the day. Dinner was at 6:30, though they may consider going earlier to get in line. Afterward, there would be a camp out starting at 8:00 in the Magic Glade to commemorate the first day of classes.

"Do you want to hang out during the camp out?" Keller asked.

"I'd like to, but I think the leaders want me and Lindsay to stick with them. We haven't gotten much time to catch up. I'll find you during it though," Gabby offered, "So we can hang out for a little."

Keller smiled. "I'd like that."

Gabby decided to have dinner with Emily instead of her friends. She had hardly spoken with her mentor since she had arrived and was eager for the alone time with her. They settled under a tree by the side of the manor.

"It's awfully strange eating food that the students made," Gabby remarked, "I'm used to being here and tackling the kitchen with everyone."

Emily laughed. "Almost everyone. We had to sit Lindsay in the corner, remember?"

"Well, except the day we left it to her to make dinner…"

"Eggs and ramen!" they giggled together.

Emily sighed. "This is making me feel old, reminiscing about the good ol' days."

Gabby smirked. "Maybe because you are old?"

Emily elbowed her jokingly. "Watch yourself!"

"So how are you and Marlin?" Gabby winked.

"Oh please, don't start!" Emily blushed. "You know we can't be together! He's a prince!"

"Still saying that? So is Loren! Look at him and Kara!"

"Kara is a princess! She'll easily become a queen!"

"You may not be a princess, but no one is more caring than you, Em. You'd be a great queen. I get the feeling Marlin knows that. He's just waiting for you to be ready."

Emily was quiet for moment. "Yeah, well, who made you the expert anyway?" she mumbled sadly.

Gabby shrugged and smiled. "I know you. And I'm just observant."

"Observant!" Emily laughed and added sarcastically, "Sure you are!"

* * *

"Sit here over here, Lindsay!" someone shouted from across the clearing.

The camp leaders had their own area, as to give everyone some privacy, but the voice calling her was far from that area and annoyingly familiar. Alex waved frantically, coaxing her over. Guys and girls were free to sleep by each other, so long as everyone kept an eye out, though the leaders' bondeds did a good job of this as well. Alex sat among his friends: Gavin, Riley, and Trevor.

Lindsay just stared at him blankly and didn't move.

"I think he's waving to you," Gabby whispered from behind her.

"I'm aware," Lindsay replied flatly, "I'm trying to figure out his motives. And how far his vision works."

Gabby shrugged and rolled out her sleeping bag. She stretched out on it and relaxed.

Lindsay sat down next to her. "Maybe, if I ignore him, he'll leave me alone."

"Not a chance," Gabby laughed, gesturing behind Lindsay.

Alex stood there, smirking. "Hey, I couldn't find you during dinner or the bonfire. After all, you ran off right after class."

Yawning, Lindsay asked, "And what do you want?"

"To thank you, of course!" Alex exclaimed, "I couldn't believe what you said to Jenna! That was actually pretty cool."

Lindsay didn't say anything.

Alex recoiled. "Why so angry? What did I say?"

"You're mocking me, aren't you?" she growled.

"No, I mean it!" he insisted, "I actually respect that, though you still confuse and irritate me."

Gabby smirked, but stayed out of the conversation. It wasn't her place to predict the future aloud.

_The boy can't win, huh? _Thunder grinned. _Even if he's genuinely respectful, you hate him._

Lindsay shrugged. "Zoe always complains that I base too much off a first impression, but I can't help it. It takes a lot to change my opinion."

Alex rolled his eyes. "Well, whoever this Zoe girl is, she's got your character pinned down. Props to her, 'cause I still can't figure it out."

"She's also one of my best friends, whereas I've only known you for two days," Lindsay scoffed.

"Doesn't matter. I'm a genius at figuring out people. It's my power, remember?"

"Doesn't matter. Your power isn't figuring out people. It's seeing their emotions. Like I was telling you, that doesn't mean you understand them."

"True, but it sure helps. Unlike someone," he gestured to her, "I can tell when someone is being genuine and honest. And of course, I can see when they may be seriously considering hurting me."

"And yet you still don't know when to leave them alone, huh?" Lindsay grumbled, stretching out on her sleeping bag and covering her eyes.

"Nah, it's just fun to annoy you. I don't even have to try."

Lindsay just kept her eyes closed, covered her ears and yelled, "I CAN'T HEAR YOU! LA LA LA LA! Is that the wind?! Who knew the wind could be so irritating?!"

"Very mature," Alex laughed, rolling his eyes.

Lindsay stuck her tongue out at him. "I'm super mature. Right, Gabby?"

There was no response.

"Gabby?" Lindsay asked again and sat up, confused.

_She wandered off while you were arguing._ Thunder informed her.

"Way to be observant." Alex smirked.

"I'm plenty observant! More observant than you!"

_To be honest, the two of you may as well be blind. _Thunder muttered as the two began arguing who was more observant than the other.

* * *

"I could have caught her, Keller! If only I hadn't been such a chicken!" Anna whined.

"Caught who?" Gabby asked as she came up to her and her brother.

"Gabby! Hey! You actually came," Keller greeted her, ignoring his sister's mischievous look.

Gabby smiled. "Good observation. You didn't think I would?"

"You just seemed busy is all," Keller explained, nodding to where Lindsay and Alex were arguing, "I thought you'd have to mediate."

"I figured I'd let them solve their own problems. They could use the alone time," Gabby said, "Speaking of alone, where is Mitch? I thought you might be with him."

Keller shrugged. "We were looking for him, but no one has seen him. Adriane said he wandered off mumbling something about clouds."

"He's probably drawing," Anna said, pouting, "I asked to see his sketchbook, but he wouldn't show me. What's the point of drawing if no one can see it? Art is meant to be shared!"

"Maybe for you, but for others, it's private," Keller explained, "It seems like his sketchbook is a lot like his diary."

Gabby shrugged. "To each their own, right? Why don't we go over to the bonfire and have some s'mores?"

"Yes please!" Anna squealed, grabbing her brother and Gabby by their hands and dragging them along.

Keller laughed, "Didn't have to ask her twice!"

The three of them roasted marshmallows around the giant bonfire and made a mess of putting them on their s'mores. The infamous blond twins, Cinder and Erin, joined them. They chatted excitedly with Anna about their dragons. Gabby had to scold them once or twice about creating illusions around the fire and making other campers think their marshmallows were on fire, but they otherwise behaved. When Anna dropped one of her s'mores in the dirt, Cinder gave her his, both his a little pink. Anna smiled, split it in half for them to share, and thanked him. Keller eyed the little boy and looked on protectively as Cinder gave him a nervous glance.

"Relax," Gabby whispered to Keller, who was still staring Cinder down, "He's just being nice. It's cute."

Keller grumbled, "She's eight. No boy needs to be cute and nice to her. I'd prefer she think boys have cooties still."

"Alright," Gabby sighed, "You're just doing your job as an overprotective big brother."

"I'm not being overprotective! She's eight!"

"It's not like he's asking her out. They're sharing a s'mores. Besides, it won't be long before she's old enough to have a boyfriend."

Keller looked at her in horror. "What?! She's not having a boyfriend 'til she's thirty!"

"Don't be ridiculous," Gabby laughed, "You're fifteen, right? How old were you when you had your first girlfriend?"

Keller's face turned a bit red as he glanced at her and said nothing.

"You haven't had one yet?" Gabby realized, but added, "I guess it's not that unusual. I haven't had a boyfriend either, and we're still only sophomores. I just thought for some reason you would have."

"You haven't either?" Keller's face turned a bit redder, but he smiled and said, "Well, that's good."

"Why is that good?"

His eyes widened, as if just noticing he spoke allowed. "W-well, I can at least use you as an example for my sister. I mean, I mean since you haven't had a boyfriend and all."

Gabby shrugged. "I guess. Everyone is different."

* * *

Most settled down and slept around 3 a.m., but Lindsay couldn't sleep. Instead, she got up and stepped around people until she made it from the glade to the main path. She walked back towards the manor and found herself taking the same route as that night so many years ago. Staring at the gate, the memories flooded back: Hunter, tails, animal ears, losing control, his threat. The guilt.

A tear escaped down her cheek as she felt wolf ears form on her head.

Thunder padded up beside her. _I thought this was where you went._

"Sorry," Lindsay choked out.

_We all changed that night. I just wish it would leave you alone. This is why I was nervous about coming back. I can't stand it haunting you even more._

She didn't say anything. Instead, she stared up at the stars and listened to the crickets, trying to clear her mind.

Thunder nudged her hand. _C'mon, let's head back._

Nodding slowly and forcing the wolf ears on her head to disappear, she followed him back to the glade.

* * *

**Shorter than usual, but it's something, right? You should all thank Mistyx7 for reminding me to write. Haha, thanks for your patience guys!**

**This is where I write something witty to make you review. I've resorted to bribery. I may or may not give you a cookie for reviewing. Maybe I'll stick to threatening you guys. Review or I'll sick the cookie monster on you!**


	14. Serious Stuff

Lindsay and her friends were chatting and eating lunch when they noticed ominous clouds rolling towards the manor. Looking around, they realized that the sky was otherwise clear.

"Weird," Lindsay remarked, "This is more like weather in Illinois. I wouldn't expect it here."

Elena shrugged, "It's likely someone's illusion."

Everyone nodded their agreement and continued eating. Things like this weren't that interesting at camp. They had all but forgotten the storm when they heard screaming from the front of the manor. The clouds were hovering right over the front lawn, and thunder boomed without lightning.

Alex ran up to them, urgency in his voice, "Lindsay, we have a problem. We are getting the other leaders, but she's screaming for you specifically."

"'She'?" Lindsay echoed, getting up, "What's going on?"

"Some girl," Alex said, "She stormed up to the manor, quite literally, with a cheetah and keeps yelling for you. Just follow me and you'll see."

She hurried after him, Thunder trailing behind her. As they rounded the corner of the manor, she caught sight of the girl causing so much panic. The girl was her age with long blonde hair and green eyes. Lightning crackled around her as she argued with a student. The student pointed to Lindsay, and the girl whipped around to face her.

"YOU!" the girl jerked her finger at Lindsay in rage.

"Oh crap," Lindsay muttered, backing away.

The girl laughed sarcastically. "That's funny. You're not going anywhere."

"Nice to see you too, Zoe," Lindsay said warily, "What are you doing here?"

"Lovely weather, huh?" Zoe sneered, "It followed me all the way here. And it won't go away. Oh and this," she gestured to the cheetah next to her, "Is this a package deal?" She paused and apologized to the cheetah, "Not that I don't like you, Nia."

"So you finally read the book I got you, huh?" Lindsay smirked. "Not like you could have read it when I was home or anything."

"I heard you talking on the phone with someone about this camp, so I read the book to see what you were talking about. I read all of them," Zoe explained. "And then stuff started to happen. Storms suddenly formed when I was angry. Nia showed up. And then you wouldn't pick up your phone, so I came here. Now, what the hell is happening?!"

Alex interjected, "It's not a quick explanation. Why don't you dry off and sit with us?"

Lindsay glared at him. "Excuse me? Us? Since when were you included in this?"

"Well, I've been ignored this whole conversation, but I'd like to think I could help explain," Alex said, "This is that friend Zoe that you mentioned last night, right?"

"Yes," Lindsay snapped, "But I don't need your help."

Alex rolled his eyes. "Do you ever? And do I care?"

Lindsay opened her mouth to argue, but Zoe cut her off, "I don't care who explains! Someone just get this rain to stop!"

Zoe's personal raincloud rumbled and started pouring harder.

"STUPID THING!" Zoe screamed in rage, "STOP! Go away! Shoo! Leave me alone!"

_It doesn't work like that, _the cheetah, Nia, said.

"Then how does it work!?" Zoe demanded.

Lindsay put a hand on Zoe's shoulder and gave her a very serious look. "First, calm the heck down. Deep breaths. We'll help."

As Zoe grudgingly did as she was instructed, Alex smirked. "'We', huh?"

"Shut up," Lindsay grumbled, "I've given up trying to get rid of you."

Sitting Zoe down at a picnic table, the two of them explained how the books weren't fiction and that imagination enabled everyone with an open mind to have their own magic. The rain had subsided now that Zoe was calmer, and the clouds were retreating. By the time Adriane, Emily, and Kara found them, Zoe nearly was caught up to speed.

"Nice to meet you," Emily greeted her, "You're Lindsay's friend, right? You must have worked some sort of miracle to get her and Alex to be civilized with each other."

"They were arguing earlier, but I hadn't realized it was a thing," Zoe said, raising an eyebrow at Lindsay.

Adriane rolled her eyes. "Oh, it is. But, more importantly, welcome to Ravenswood. Apparently, you've already read all about us and this place, but I'm Adriane. This is Emily and Kara."

Zoe nodded. "That I figured out. Ravenswood runs a magic camp though? And you guys teach it?"

Kara shrugged. "Zach, Gabby, and Lindsay also teach. Loren and Marlin help out sometimes too."

"I'm sorry," Zoe laughed, "Did you say Lindsay is teaching?"

Adriane smirked. "I know, right? But she and Gabby were our first apprentices."

"And they said she teaches," Alex chimed in, "Not that she teaches well."

Lindsay clapped him over the head. "Shut up! Jeez, you all have absolutely no faith in me!"

Zoe pinched Lindsay's cheek and cooed, "Aw, poor little Lindsay. You know we love you!"

Lindsay slapped her hand away. "Oh be quiet, jerk. And don't touch my face."

"Like this?" Alex asked innocently as he poked her forehead.

"Maturity levels are sky rocketing around here," she grumbled, rolling her eyes.

Alex laughed, "Says the girl who stuck her tongue out at me and yelled 'La la la, is that the wind?'"

Zoe shared a look with Kara, who winked at her, and glanced at her friend again. Grabbing Lindsay's wrist and staring her down, she said, "You. You have to tell me things. Like stuff. Stuff and things."

Lindsay gave her a blank look and nodded slowly. "Stuff… Things… Right."

"Things?" Alex asked.

Zoe smiled at Alex and shot Lindsay a meaningful look. "Things."

"Oh!" Lindsay's eyes widened in horror as recognition crossed her face. "Things. Stuff and things."

"Things," Zoe repeated.

Adriane, Emily and Kara were laughing, but Alex was looking from girl to girl, completely lost.

"Never," he said in wonder, "Have I seen the word 'things' bring such a wide range of emotions, including terror."

"And look at the time!" Lindsay suddenly exclaimed, pulling her arm from Zoe's grasp, "I'd better beat my students to class or they'll beat each other up. Bye!"

They all watched as she raced off.

"What just happened?" Alex asked, utterly confused.

Emily smirked. "Things happened, Alex, things."

Kara gave Zoe a high-five. "I like you."

* * *

It wasn't until after dinner that Gabby met the new arrival, or even saw Lindsay again. Zoe had spent the rest of the day questioning Kara and testing out her newfound magic. Lindsay had spent dinner with her, catching up and helping her adjust. Gabby finally caught up to them sitting around the water garden. Lindsay and Zoe were sitting in the grass, chatting, while Thunder and Nia played around the water.

"I feel like it may be dangerous for a cheetah made of electricity to be playing near water," Gabby remarked, approaching the two while Caramel ran off to play with their bondeds.

Lindsay shrugged. "No more dangerous than anything else here."

"True," Gabby agreed, smirking, and greeted Zoe, "Nice to finally meet you. I'm Gabby. I can finally match a face to the voice over the phone."

"You too," Zoe said, smiling politely, "I remember those conversations. Sorry to confuse you with our similar voices over speaker phone."

"It wasn't too difficult to figure out," Gabby said, "But anyway, how do you like it here?"

Zoe smiled. "You are all the biggest freaks on the planet, but it's pretty cool. I can do some crazy stuff too now."

Lindsay laughed. "Welcome to the land of the freaks. You're one of us now."

Something caught Zoe's eye at the edge of the forest, near one of the ponds. She squinted her eyes and craned her neck, attempting to get a better view.

She nudged Lindsay and pointed. "Who is that?"

When Gabby saw where Zoe was pointing, she smiled. "That's Mitch and Finn. Mitch really likes to draw, so he's probably sketching the water."

Lindsay stood up and waved. "Finn! Mitch!"

Mitch didn't look, too concentrated on his artwork, but Finn noticed and prodded him. Confused, Mitch looked up from his sketch. Finally, after regaining his bearings on the real world, he waved back and headed towards them.

"Hey, Mitch, what have you been drawing?" Gabby asked as he sat down next to them.

"Stuff," Mitch replied, smirking.

Lindsay gestured to Zoe. "This is my friend Zoe. She just developed her powers."

Mitch smiled warmly. "Right. You were the clouds. Nice to meet you, Zoe."

"Everyone keeps mentioning that," Zoe moaned.

Lindsay shrugged. "You made quite a scene."

"Don't sweat it though," Mitch said. "You should see when the twins have temper tantrums. Horrendous illusions."

Everyone shuddered at the thought.

Suddenly, the trees started rustling and the winds got stronger. A loud screech overhead made everyone look up to see Scream swooping down to land a bit away from them. Alex hopped off and ran over to the group.

"Lindsay, Gabby," he said as he grabbed each of their arms, trying to pull them up, "we need you. Let's go. Leaders meeting at Adriane and Zach's house."

Gabby stood as he pulled her, but Lindsay yanked her arm free.

"What for?" Lindsay demanded.

Alex shook his head. "They didn't tell me. Just that it's urgent."

"And why should they send you?"

He rolled his eyes. "Because, contrary to popular belief, I'm not the devil. They actually trust me, hence why I'm part of the meeting."

"You aren't a leader!" she protested.

Groaning, suddenly gripping Lindsay's wrist again, stronger this time, and dragging her over to Scream, Alex said, "That doesn't mean anything. And we don't have time for this. They said to come as quickly as possible. Everyone else is already there."

Reluctantly, Lindsay climbed onto Scream behind him. Gabby got on after, holding on to Lindsay for balance.

As they took off, Lindsay called after Mitch, "Make sure Zoe finds the manor later, and keep an eye on Thunder!"

He nodded and gave her a thumbs-up. Zoe stared after them in alarm, though Lindsay couldn't tell exactly what for.

As they soared over the treetops, Gabby clutched the back of Lindsay's shirt and stared at the ground in wonder. She had forgotten Gabby hadn't flown since the last time they were there. Lindsay wasn't used to the size of Scream though and periodically lost her balance. She was forced to grudgingly put a hand on Alex's back to steady herself. She heard him mutter something about her cross-legged posture.

* * *

When they reached the house, everyone was waiting in the living room. Elena and Leon, the eldest campers, sat together on the hearth, the fire warming their backs. Kara, Loren, and Adriane sat in a row on the couch with Zach sitting on the arm next to Adriane. Emily and Loren took one of the loveseats. And every single one of them looked tense as Lindsay and Gabby sat on the other empty loveseat with Alex on the arm next to Lindsay.

Breaking the silence, Adriane cleared her throat. "Some of you have heard the about the activity in Aldenmor. There have been an increasing number of reports regarding humans with animal characteristics causing trouble in the Mountains of Glass: demons."

Lindsay stood abruptly, eyes wide, a tremor riddling her hand. Everything in her screamed for her to run out the door.

"Lindsay!" Adriane barked.

She shook harder. Everyone stared at her, some with understanding and others with confusion.

Zach nodded to Gabby and Alex. "Sit her back down, guys. There's more, and I know she'll bolt."

Gabby complied, putting one hand on Lindsay's back, that little black ring of light shining through her shirt, and pulling her back down easily by her arm. Alex, eyebrows raised and eyes wide, put one hand firmly on her shoulder once she was sitting again.

"As I was saying," Adriane began again after Lindsay stopped shuddering so violently, "we've been monitoring these reports for the last month. They have been steadily increasing as the demons have come closer to small villages."

"So I went to investigate," Loren said, picking up where she left off. "The reports are true. There's a growing population of them living in the mountains. There are all kinds of different demons, but all human mages and mostly young. They seem to be training together, and they're getting bolder, venturing farther from their caves."

As Loren paused, Leon asked, "Where did they come from? What exactly are they? I've never even heard of them before."

"Like Loren said," Lindsay said quietly, "they are human. Really, they are just like all the students here, but they're traitors. They betrayed the trust of their friend and their bond with a magical animal. They absorb the magic into themselves and the animal becomes part of them, killing their friend. That's why they have tails and ears."

"And their training in the mountains?" Alex asked. "Why?"

"We aren't sure yet," Zach said.

"Well they have to be training for something," Elena said. "If there's that many of them, do they have a leader? How much of threat are they?"

"It's bad," Emily said. "We wouldn't have called you all here if it wasn't. We need to decide what to do about them. They could potentially be targeting the Fairy Glade or even Ravenswood."

"But why?" Elena persisted. "Why would they? Who is their leader?"

Silence hung in the air as the older mages slid a glance at Lindsay.

She started shaking again, clapping her hands over head.

"Hunter," she whimpered.

They nodded.

* * *

**DUNDUNDUN. Long time, no see! (Again) I'd apologize for my constant disappearance and promise to get better, but college applications suck and I can't honestly promise anything. Fortunately, I do have sporadic bursts of writing cravings, so something eventually gets done. But you all know by now that I love reviews. :D For reals, guys. Teh reviews.**


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